lazy sunday

i started off the day’s activities by heading to empire cafe, where i had a late lunch / early supper consisting of a garden salad with ranch dressing and the pasta rustica with iced tea to drink, followed by a coffee desert drink they call a milky way. i like empire, and i’ve had all of the above before. but i should have stopped before the desert drink because i was freaking stuffed. perhaps the caffeine helped me with the rest of the evening though.
so then it was to the angelika downtown to catch a couple of movies. i wanted to see art school confidential, but the (movie) stars weren’t in alignment for such an event. instead, i caught brick and the proposition. both of which i’d only learned about by checking what was showing. although i didn’t know it beforehand, one thing they both had in common was a sort of mash-up or blending nature.
the proposition is a western. imagine any clint eastwood western…like the outlaw josey wales. or perhaps high plains drifter would be a better choice. this western is set and filmed in australia. the events occur during the british settling of australia. there are some disturbingly grisly scenes of violence, but a lot of beautiful scenery. the main villain is cut from the “intelligent and evil” cloth, quoting poetry and spouting prose as flippantly as he kills and/or tortures someone. the screenplay was written by nick cave. (if you know who that is.) i liked the movie, but it leaves you feeling somewhat unsettled by the events that have unfolded in the context of the hellhole you were dropped into when the lights dropped and the movie started.
brick is a sort of film noir, detective piece. except it’s set in the context of your typical high school film. it seems like a risky angle, but i was impressed and thought it was an entertaining and well-created movie. the plot and dialogue are driven by classic detective films (e.g., humphrey bogart films), but the situations and parts are all played out by high school kids (although they never seem to actually attend class). written and directed by rian johnson, edited on his mac, it’s his first out of the gate. i was impressed all around: dialogue, framing, plot, etc. it’ll be interesting to see what rian might pull off for a sophomore effort.
as with many things i see or hear, since i haven’t had the opportunity to move myself forward (in a significant way) in the area of dating and relationships it made me think about the events that unfolded with myself and tamara. i’d like to imagine i was brendan (the main character) to her emily: someone in love with someone falling apart and destroying their life, trying to help them, then after it’s too late trying to figure it out all for the memory of the person you loved. however, it’s more likely in too many ways i’ve been tugger to her laura, a dupe manipulated and taken advantage of by someone with bigger plans…a pawn used to her advantage. maybe some of both are true. of course, all tugger had was an old (as in years, not condition) fastback mustang. i, on the other hand, have a motorcycle. 😉
regarding that “manipulated and taken advantage of” bit…i’ll probably have more to say on that here in the near future. we shall see.