March Madness
Elias has his own life and activities, and I have to get used to it. Last month it was PhD exams. This month, it's college basketball. According to The New Agency, March Madness is a really big deal, especially now as the competition narrows. I'm bracing myself now for the upcoming NBA playoffs. After that, it should be smooth sailing until next year's Oscars.
Instead of getting mad though, I'm getting even by watching lots of movies. My best picks of late have been documentaries even though I usually prefer junky blockbusters.
For example, I was kicking and screaming (literally, I swear) about watching Elias's netflix pick, Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townse Van Zandt. I assumed it would be boring since I was previously unfamiliar with Townse Van Zandt. Boy was I wrong. I highly recommend it. Van Zandt, if you don't know, wrote a lot of countryish music in the 70s and 80s. His songs are highly regarded among his peers, and by watching the film you'll see why. Also, there's a lot of personal drama centered around alcohol abuse and neglect -- things many relate to or find entertaining.
We saw another documentary last night, even though Inside Man is out. OMG, I LOVED Block Party, and I can't believe it wasn't my first, second, and third choice of movies to see in the theater lately.* Go see it now. Unlike Be Here to Love Me, the Dave Chappell movie, Block Party has familiar music and lots of jokes to make you laugh. It's almost entirely about good times, even with Dead Prez and Kanye West performances. The saddest part was when Lauren Hill made me never want to try to sing again. When we got home from the movie, we pulled out our older and rarely-played-anymore CDs of Jill Scott, Mos Def, The Roots, Common, and other artists featured in the film. We just didn't want the block party to end I guess.
*Sadly, but truly, both the documentaries were better than V For Vendetta which was last week's number one movie pick.
Instead of getting mad though, I'm getting even by watching lots of movies. My best picks of late have been documentaries even though I usually prefer junky blockbusters.
For example, I was kicking and screaming (literally, I swear) about watching Elias's netflix pick, Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townse Van Zandt. I assumed it would be boring since I was previously unfamiliar with Townse Van Zandt. Boy was I wrong. I highly recommend it. Van Zandt, if you don't know, wrote a lot of countryish music in the 70s and 80s. His songs are highly regarded among his peers, and by watching the film you'll see why. Also, there's a lot of personal drama centered around alcohol abuse and neglect -- things many relate to or find entertaining.
We saw another documentary last night, even though Inside Man is out. OMG, I LOVED Block Party, and I can't believe it wasn't my first, second, and third choice of movies to see in the theater lately.* Go see it now. Unlike Be Here to Love Me, the Dave Chappell movie, Block Party has familiar music and lots of jokes to make you laugh. It's almost entirely about good times, even with Dead Prez and Kanye West performances. The saddest part was when Lauren Hill made me never want to try to sing again. When we got home from the movie, we pulled out our older and rarely-played-anymore CDs of Jill Scott, Mos Def, The Roots, Common, and other artists featured in the film. We just didn't want the block party to end I guess.
*Sadly, but truly, both the documentaries were better than V For Vendetta which was last week's number one movie pick.
posted by Kathy at 10:15 PM
12 Added Something:
K- The NCAA Tourney is a VERY big deal, because it's on occasion to see pure basketball. In the NBA, you see fake basketball, played by stuck up rapists who get paid too much money and whine about how terrible their lives are.
Also, I disagree with you on V for Vendetta, I thought it was really great and I loved it. I did love the Townes Van Zandt doc, though. It made me miss Texas a lot, as well as all my alcoholic friends who live there.
#8 - I like V too. I just think Block Party is better. BTW, Michel Gondry directed it. When I think of Gondry, I think of Spike Jonze who did a little documentary (Amarillo by Morning) about young cowboys trying to get into the rodeo. Knowing how you love Brokeback Mountain, I recommend you try to see it. We own it, as it's on a really great collection of Jonze's work.
Xui, you have plenty of alcoholic friends on the west coast, too.
Ed: Hard as it may be to believe, I have MORE alcoholic friends in Texas. While there I drank more than I ever thought possible. It made me realize something very important: you can drink way more than you think you can.
Alochol abuse is bad for your liver.
TEXAS is bad for your liver
If Alcohol and Texas are so bad for your liver, then why do they hurt sooooo goooood?
i know how you feel, Mr. Agent. i went to WSU and lived in Pullman for a year. my liver hurts just thinking about those days.
TEXAS is bad for your liver and so many other things. Lived there for 2 years, yuk - bushes in the shape of the Texas, and Dairy Queens that "Texas size" your food.
Recently saw American History X - I think I could have gone my whole life without seeing that ugliness and been all the same for it.
Went to Final 4 in 1994 with boy who got "mad" because I was not all excited like he and thought that seeing Spike Lee from afar was not all that great either. Then again I'm from L.A. and he's from Sacto - not too many stars in Sacto. Yup he dumped after that - for failing to see and understand the greatness of such trivial things I suppose.
K- I'm glad you're cathing up on good movies - me I've been catching up on bad one's - just like heaven, the exorcism of emily rose, Elizabeth Town(okay, I confess I just wanted to watch Orlando Bloom for 2 hours) - Pay per view is evil as is TEXAS - sorry! (insight--my kids are half Texan.) Wide open skies and and roads you can fly on are nice though and flash floods are exciting too.
okay, March Madness is so much more mad now that UCLA is in the final four. despite being at UCLA for the entire 90's, I must say that I falter when it comes to school spirit (frankly I think its sad to use the phrase "we won" when "we" had very little to do with the 10 guys that played the games). BUUUUT, I did in fact do a muffled eight clap (more like a golf clap) when WE got into the final four.
Kathy, your movie comments are great, block party is the funnest, but I eagerly await your reviews of the trailers.
I can't really get into march madness. Sorry. I like the NBA a so much more, maybe because I don't root for any of the colleges, or maybe bc I actually have teams I hate in the NBA and it's fun to root against the teams and players you hate, like the Lakers in my case.
V for Vendetta could have been better, the second act did kind of bore me at times, but overall it was good. I just don't watch that many movies, so I know I probably won't see the documentaries. I hate it when I have to go out of my way to see a film bc its on limited release. Like there's this movie with Michael Keaton I really want to see it's called "Game 6" but I think it's only playing in N.Y. right now and that pisses me off
I completely forgot Block Party existed. Because of you, Im going to see it tomorrow evening. Your blog changes lives!
I like the concept behind the new Beastie Boys movie and hope it turns out as well as the version I have in my head. Meanwhile, my favorite musical documentary of all time (because you did ask; it's all subtext) is "Dig!". Have you seen "Dig!"? You should see "Dig!" and not just because I enjoy typing the title. It's all about the rivalry between the Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, two bands I don't really care about one way or the other, but I do enjoys me a rivalry, and this one is compelling. Boots to the head are involved. I should probably be telling this to amazon.com, but amazon.com isn't here right now.
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