A film about a murder mystery set amidst the drug-ridden slums of Brooklyn. Not exactly pleasant subject matter (but realistic, I suspect, unfortunately). It moved kind of slow in places, but the acting was really good.

I enjoyed this movie more tonight than when I first watched it. This despite the fact that the first time I saw it, it was on the big screen (this one is definitely designed for the big theater), and this time, it was on a relatively small television.

Just as I was starting to hunker down for an evening with the IFC tv, the phone rang. My initial thought: "Oh great. Another telemarketer." On the off chance that it would be one of the few people who I personally know who have my number, I answered, fully prepared to hang up in a split second if I heard the voice of yet another sales drone.

Once in a while, a film comes along that's just so unexpectedly fun and quirky that it leaves a lasting impression. Illuminata was such a film. Having now seen Living in Oblivion for a second time (thanks to the joys of encore cable screenings), I'd say it also falls into this category.

This movie just doesn't get old.

How can it hold up so well and still be such an enjoyable experience even when I know the whole story almost by heart? (word for word in some sections.) I credit the awesome acting, amazing (usually very subtle) effects, and open-endedly thought provoking subject matter. Anyone who uses the words "slow" or "boring" to describe Contact wasn't paying attention at all, in my oh-so-humble opinion.

I think I have just reached a new low in movielog entry writing lameness. rotfl.

It is a worthwhile movie. I enjoyed watching it. Angelina Jolie is a good actress. Have a nice day.

Every scene is like an image out of a dream; sometimes beautiful, sometimes horrifying, but always riveting to the senses. A magnificant tale of another realm, lost in the recesses of consciousness.

As of 5 minutes ago, I have just finished off the last of the Thanksgiving rolls. Thank you.

Due to something resembling popular demand, I have decided to type a rambling tonight.

It is Christmas Eve. That mythical time of year when everyone drinks eggnog, Santa rides around shooting people, and Mr. Hankey spreads cheer to all the children who eat a high fiber diet.

"That Jaeger, and his press releases... What is to be done?"

Watching spellbound through the 90 minute pilot, I was reminded of what I like so much about the little bits I've seen of Babylon 5. It's a show about all the different political factions from all the alien races being thrust together, all with their own interests, agendas, and history. All conspiring, making alliances, and pushing for their own unique vision of how things should be.

As attentive collective vultures probably already know, Bitscape's DVD player broke down in the middle of the week; all attempts to use undocumented magic to revive it failed. This prompted Bitscape to vow never to buy a Sony player again, and then begin a quest for a new player, one that would hopefully be of better quality and last much longer.

On what might otherwise have been a calm and quiet morning, a stampede of geeks descended from all directions upon the theater, lining up outside for miles, all anxious to take a peek at the much-anticipated production of epic scale.

I write from the perspective of someone who saw Fellowship of the Ring without having read the Lord of the Rings books, although I did read The Hobbit long ago.

Alright. So this evening after work, I was going to head to Suncoast in search of the B5 DVD as a last resort. (They're the most expensive place around, but they often carry stuff that other places don't have.) But on the way, I stopped in at Best Buy, knowing that I'd want to pick up Moulin Rouge without paying Suncoast prices anyway. Just for kicks, I checked the scifi section again. Bingo. Several Babylon 5 discs right there. Maybe they were a week late? Happy bank account depletion card goes swish on 2 counts. (Have I mentioned I'm an addict of all forms of entertainment digital?)

This film portrays the life of a teenage girl going through puberty in a poor family in Beverly Hills during the 70s, living with her dad and two brothers. I suppose this could fall into the category of anti-teen-glam movie, in which the protagonist must deal with such traumas as the development of breasts ("Is this a deformity?"), menstruation, and life as a nomad. Its earthy, trailer park raunchiness (i.e. realism) often treads the thin line between utterly repulsive and funny.

Kevin Bacon plays a film school graduate who goes to Hollywood where he encounters the soul-sucking insanity machine of the commercial movie industry. A touching film, also funny at times. It had some good stream of consciousness sequences, similar to the freeform style that would later be popularized in shows like Ally McBeal. A good, enjoyable film.

Bound is a smart, sexy, suspenseful, stylish thriller, conceived by none other than the creative genius team known to the world as The Wachowski Brothers. By mainstream standards, it's edgy. It's erotic. It's vile. It's edge of your seat. It's a lot of fun.

Just what the world has always wanted: Another "complete" rambling. lol.

Firstly, all hail IFC. Thank you.

And a great white snow befell the land of Colorado. It unleashed its white fury; upon the Castle Lair, upon the Coffehouse Apartment, upon the Boulder Compound, and upon the Flagstaff Compound. And all the penguins sat in awe of the great storm.

--The Book of Phesting. Chapter 3, Verse 5.

:set mode=down_to_earth

Tonight brought the event that is the monthly BLUG meeting. Zan Lynx and I went directly from work, to Best Buy, to Boulder (with me taking a brief stop at the ATM on the way; food stamps, hehe). Ate some good grub at Subway, and, in our usual form of late, arrived a few minutes late. (I think part of it has to do with my timing instincts still being attuned to the old NIST location, instead of the new place in the middle of university territory.)

Brainwaves approach the flatline. Impervious. Nothing can phase the threshold of this consciousness. The lights are on, but nobody's home. Flash of stimulus.

Content farming is like moisture farming. Or is it?

Maybe not. Oh well. So be it.

Having just managed to pull myself away from my Cube long enough to start a rambling, I'm trying not to be too distracted by the film that just started on IFC. Rather difficult, given that the trailer I saw yesterday looked really intriguing, and it's directed by Neil Jordan. And it's in the fantasy genre. Bah. I'm watching it. But I might ramble a bit at the same time.

My hunch is that this is one of those movies that sticks with you. Not just for days or weeks, but years. Time will tell whether this proves to be true. Or will it?

Since it's been a few days since I posted any content (which for me is a long time), I think now would be a good time to post a rambling. What shall I ramble about?

See, it's been so long since I wrote anything, I'm already forgetting how to mindlessly spin the daily churning of words. I'm out of practice, so I have to actually think about it. Oh, the horror.

It must have either happened during Farscape or one of the Buffys, because when I got home from work today, there was still no signal on the cable box. When I came back in the bedroom a few minutes ago, the signal light was active. With great anticipation, I plugged in an ethernet cable and ran dhcpcd eth1. Preso!

In an unusual twist, I woke up very early this morning. Earlier than I would normally wake up to go to work. I got up, checked slashdot, checked my email, and everything seemed normal. Spent a couple hours playing Star Wars. Horribly addictive, even though I suck at it. (Yes, this is a pattern. I enjoy playing video games, even though I suck at most of them.)

A couple hours later, I came back to Argo to do a little Collectivizing, and the server timed out. So did everything else I try to connect to. I tried doing tracerouts, and found that everything was mysteriously being routed to an address reserved for private networks, and not getting anywhere else from there. Doh.