Mad Thoughts

I can identify with both:

and

First, fuck off, I love this movie. It’s good. Everyone is good in it. Gus Van Sant’s direction storytelling is tight and that screenplay is amazing.

On the topic of Ben Affleck, I think his direction on Gone Baby Gone more than proves that there is a storyteller inside him. The Good Will Hunting script did not, as some have theorized, fall out of the sky.

Chuckie. I identify with Chuckie because I like to think I’m the kind of friend that would rather lose a friend than see them unhappy. I “get” what he is talking about when he tells Will, in likely the most honest moment in the whole movie, that, “maybe I’ll get up there and I’ll knock on the door and you won’t be there. No goodbye. No see you later. No nothing.” It breaks Chuckie’s heart to watch his friend sell him self short, but fuck, he’s powerless to do anything about it, so all he can do is keep getting him drunk.

Plus, in the past, I’ve been the only asshole with a working car, so I’ve played Chuckie’s role of part-time taxi driver too.

Then, Will. I’m likely going to flash my huge, planet-sized ego (and likely some short-sighted over-privileged whiteness too), but I’ve always identified with Will’s battle to move beyond what the world has given him. I also know what it’s like to feel like there is something special in you, but not know how, or even if, you can let it out. I wear my need for a father-figure on my sleeve too. Will’s smart, but like he’s told in the film, he doesn’t have a clue on what to do with himself. No one understands why he just doesn’t do it: go to Harvard, be rich, be a genius— he’s so tightly wound in being from Southie, for being on the demolition team, for being what he is, he can’t figure out what he can be. 

Ever hear me talk about Detroit? You see what I mean?

Is it possible to go blind from anger?

I’m fine. Seriously. 

Day 09 - A movie with the best soundtrack

Hackers. Hands down. I didn’t even have to think about it. It introduced me to a genre I still love today. It introduced me to many artists I still listen to today, and it has 2-3 songs that could appear in a top 25 favorite jams list. 

Day 10 - Favorite classic movie

This is a tough one for me because I, mostly by accident, have not watch many classics. I liked The Birds. I really enjoyed White Christmas. West Side Story is a hoot. I’ll say It’s a Wonderful Life.

Day 11 - A movie that changed your opinion about something

Another tough one. I’ll go with Fog of War. It didn’t change my opinion about the Vietnam War, it created it. 

Day 12 - A movie that you hate

I hate Empire Records. I’ve met so many people that love this movie and I just can’t figure out why. Is this what teenagers were supposed to be like in the 90’s? Precocious and half-retarded? And what’s with the cheesy lounge singer, sex subplot? I’ve seen it, more or less, three times and each time I try to figure out the appeal and each time I turn it off in a fit of confusion and rage. Also, what’s with Suburbia? That sucked to.

Day 13 - A movie that is a guilty pleasure

The Rock starring Nick Cage.

Day 14 - A movie that no one would expect you to love

Many people close to me know that I don’t watch horror movies. It’s something I picked up from childhood and it’s always stuck with me. There have been a number of occasions, however, that a scary movie has slipped through the cracks (network TV versions, especially). Knowing how much I dislike horror movies, people might be surprised to know how much respect I have for the original Halloween. When Meyers is following Jamie Lee Curtis, in the daylight, as she walks home from school? Brrrrrr! I still get freaked out.

I lost a follower and I’ve had Creed music stuck in my head for the past few hours.

My last post— the one with the Glenn Beck joke? Not worth it.