enjoy the small things

I love living in Boston. I have had the opportunity to do the most amazing things in the past year, simply by virtue of residing in this great city. Yesterday, that meant getting a great new haircut for only $5 from the beauty school downtown. Tonight, that meant getting a free pass to an advance screening of the new zombie comedy "Zombieland."

This afternoon I was at an event called CollegeFest with Christina and Adrienne collecting free stuff from random vendors. One of the booths had posters for the movie, and a giand cardboard clown head. We threw a ball through the clown's mouth, and the prize was a free pass to the advance screening tonight at the downtown movie theater. Needless to say, we were pretty stoked.

In the end, five of us went to the show. We were a bit concerned about getting in, since these events almost always have more passes than seats in order to ensure a full house, but we were early enough to not have any problem getting in, though we did grab the last five seats together in the whole place, other than the very front rows.

Even just being there was quite the experience. Most of the people in the crowd had come in zombie makeup, some with very extravagant costumes as well. And two rows behind us, there was a zombie band, playing their ukulele and melodica to entertain us all as we waited.

I'd just like to say here that when Bostonians do something, they never do it by half measures. These people go all-out for every occasion. And apparently the zombie sub-culture across the nation is the same way. The crowd had a few more regular folks like us than it might have because of the passes being given out at CollegeFest, but they were still a rowdy force to be reckoned with. I've never seen so much fake blood in one place before. Granted, I've never been to a zombie walk, so that's probably why.

And the coolest part of the night? After the movie two of the stars, Woody Harelson and Jesse Eisenberg came out to do a Q&A! So very cool. Best question: what would you do if there was a real zombie apocalypse? "Make a sequel."

As for the movie itself, it was pretty entertaining. It earned the "R" rating for language and the most realistic and disgusting gore I've seen in a zombie flick. So don't see it if you don't like zombie movies or have trouble seeing gore. Although, the worst visuals are right at the beginning, and then it focuses on the actual story. Yes, this is a zombie flick with some semblance of plot. If you liked "Shaun of the Dead" and don't have a weak stomach, you'll probably like "Zombieland." Do see it if you enjoy dark comedy. There's also a lot of lighter comedy, and one phenomenal cameo that I absolutely will not give away. Some moments were even heartwarming. I loved Jesse Eisenberg as the narrator, and the animated text visuals of his zombie survival rules. Also, whoever thought of putting zombies and amusement parks together is an absolute genius.

If I say any more I stand the risk of ruining the experience for any of my readers who want to see "Zombieland" when it comes out next weekend. So I'll end this post with just one more thought: I love living in a place where this sort of event happens all the time, and every so often even happens to me.

-Kim

summer of the backstory

Do you remember a few years ago when every blockbuster movie was a sequel, and Hollywood was playing it safe with franchises they thought couldn't lose by giving us yet another Spiderman? I seem to remember someone calling it "the summer of the sequel."

Well, this summer seems to be going in the same and yet in the completely opposite direction. The same because, for the most part, the majority of the big blockbusters have belonged to existing franchises. Yet opposite, because rather than just moving a story forward, the movies delve into the history of the characters or their world.

First, there was Wolverine. Obviously, this one is a pretty standard prequel, going back to before the trilogy of existing movies and exploring the colorful past of everyone's favorite adamantium-clawed mutant. In spite of some big changes from the existing Wolverine backstory and a terrible misrepresentation of Gambit, the movie was awesome. Not only do we get to see Logan before and after getting his adamantium, we're given a plausible reason for his memory loss (albeit, not the reason anyone was expecting). In the process, we also see how other major characters, like Cyclops, took on their roles.

The next big movie to fit the pattern was Star Trek. All the action takes place before the start of the original series, giving us a look at our favorite characters before they became who they would be. Granted, they did mess with the space-time continuum, thereby creating a new universe for the characters to move forward in (does anyone else think this could jump start a new tv series?), but the original history was discussed between Kirk and the old Spock at one point. And the backstory that is the alternate history the Romulans came from is essential for the main action.

After that came Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As bad as this movie was, it supports my position, so it has to be mentioned. The only way the writers could conceive any new action was to explain about the transformers having been to Earth centuries before. Backstory. History.

Even the newest Harry Potter movie can fit. The whole point of book 6 was to set up book 7 by introducing us to Voldemort's past and explaining the horcruxes that Harry would need to destroy. That's why there was so much talking and so much less action in this than in other Potter films. It's purpose is to share vital pieces of history so that things that have already happened (like the episode with Tom Riddle's diary) and things yet to come will be understood more completely in the context of the whole story.

I know there are plenty of other movies coming out this summer that don't fit any definition of prequel or backstory, but all the major ones seem to. What does this say about us? I think the viewing public is expressing a desire for stories grounded in history, even fictional history. Our own lives are increasingly disconnected from our past, as we forget previous generations in our constant struggle to move forward as quickly as possible. We can't be bothered to find our own pasts, but we hunger for the solid foundation that history presents. With the future more uncertain than ever, we want the security of at least knowing where we've been, to have an idea where we might be going.

Or maybe I'm the crazy one. It's possible, after all. But I think it's no coincidence that the theme of history is growing in popular culture.

Just chew on that for a while.

-Kim

epic fail

Yesterday afternoon I went to the new Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen. I tried to have an open mind going in, because even though the one review I had seen online was absolutely scathing, many of my facebook acquaintances had loved it. And it's generally okay for there to be a summer movie that's all about explosions, as long as it presents itself well.

But this movie was just bad. And not in a low-budget, slapped-together way that's merely not good. Movies that aren't good come out all the time and make their way quietly to the $5 bin at WalMart about a month after the initial DVD release. Then there those campy movies that poke fun at themselves by being intentionally bad. The Librarian springs to mind. I enjoy a movie like that, as long as it's clear that they aren't taking themselves seriously. And in a class all by themselves are those movies that are totally, monumentally bad in every way and are clearly taking themselves far too seriously the entire time. Transformers 2 is that movie. It's the sort of movie that makes me want to sing the opening song from The Producers as I walk out of the theater:

He's done it again
He's done it again
Max Bialystock has done it again!
We can't believe it
You can't conceive it...

How'd he achieve it?

It's the worst show in town!
We sat there sighing
Groaning and crying
There's no denying
It's the worst show in town!

Oh, we wanted to stand up and hiss...

We've seen shit...

But never like this!

Just substitute Michael Bay for Max Bialystock (ooh, ironic name similarities!) and the sentiment is the same.

If I were to detail to you the entirety of the badness of the movie, it would take all day and I would be giving it more time and publicity than it deserves. And I'm not concerned that everything I'm about to write is a major spoiler--if you haven't seen it yet I urge you not to waste your time or money (although, it could be fun to rent some day when you need a good laugh). So here's a short list of the top several reasons this movie fails:

1. Optimus Prime has the most over-dramatic dialogue of all time, and his final line has nothing to do with the movie.

2. Sam's mother is worse than a caricature--no human being could be that pathetically ridiculous. And making her get high off marijuana brownies when they move Sam to college is just in poor taste, although it did almost make me forget her over-the-top crying breakdown as they were packing to leave.

3. Sam's girlfriend Mikaela embodies every female stereotype I've ever heard of, which really shouldn't be possible, since so many of them are conflicting. She is at the same time flighty and clingy, needy and overly assertive, composed "warrior goddess" who takes on decepticons single-handedly and panicky girl who almost gets them killed by screaming. I realize her only real purpose is to distract the male members of the audience enough between explosions so that they don't realize how ridiculous everything is, but seriously, Bay could have at least picked her lines as carefully as he chose her clothing to allow for the maximum amount of boob jiggling without actually falling out.

4. Gratuitious shots of humping dogs are, by definition, gratuitous, and do absolutely nothing for the story. A miniature Decepticon doing the same thing to Mikaela's leg is even worse.

5. The super-hot robot chick is an impossibility unexplained by anything before or after the scene in which she appears and is subsequently killed. How is it that this one Decepticon can hide not as an automobile, but as a college co-ed? If she was that advanced, she should have been harder to kill. I think the only reason she got to be in the movie was so that the director could call for a shot up her skirt and justify it by using the angle to show her robot tail coming out.

6. The giant Decepticon does not need giant wrecking ball testicles. That just isn't funny.

7. You made Agent Simmons move in with his mother and become the random-ultra nerd-turned-hero? What? He wasn't cool enough in the first movie to get that part now, and the underwear shot that scarred me for life is so beyond unnecessary.

8. Sam's commitment issues are not cute. You may think it's resolved at the end, Michael Bay, but you are so wrong.

9. The Tomb of the Primes is two inches behind a 7th Century (maybe later, but certainly not earlier) Christian fresco in a random desert temple, and no one has found it before now? I don't think so. By the story's timeline, the Primes were there since 7000 BC, and I think whoever built the temple and later decorated it would have been rather more observant than that.

10. All the new Autobots are either completely flat characters or ethnic stereotypes. Not cool.

11. Were they trying to make Sam Witwicky into Harry Potter? They've got the teen angst and general outsider tendencies covered, easily. Add in a scene of him dead and talking with wise, departed ancients before returning to save the day, and all he needs to complete the similarity is glasses, a wand, real friends, a soul, a story that is complex and actually makes sense...

12. Optimus' final battle against the Fallen is over in 2 seconds. Really? The fallen is a Prime and can only be defeated by a Prime (hence the waiting on his diabolical plan until Optimus is out of the way), so shouldn't they be evenly matched enough to make a good battle sequence? All Optimus needs to defeat his fallen brother is a resurrection and some rocket boosters? After all the buildup, I expected more. For shame, Michael Bay, wasting a perfectly good opportunity to add more violence to a film that already involved more death, destruction and explosions than I would expect from 2012 (a new movie about the end of the world--the preview was before Transformers).

13. The overly dramatic chopper flyover with muted choir in the midst of battle as Sam "dies" was so overdone I almost burst out laughing. Clearly the director thinks this is a serious action movie with deep philosophical gems buried so deep only explosions of the highest magnitude can bring them forth.

I will admit that Sam's roommate was fun--Leo the conspiracy theory website guy was a good call and made me smile.

But the best part of the whole experience was probably seeing the new Harry Potter trailer. Now that's a movie that should not disappoint!

-Kim

Bollywood

My new friend Xavie is introducing me to the wonderful world of Bollywood films. Tonight we watched one called Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and it was great. The plot is somewhat like the movie Definitely, Maybe, only much better.

I'm becoming a fan of the genre. The music is great and makes me want to get up and dance, and the plots are always convoluted love stories (and I mean seriously convoluted--one I've seen involved reincarnation before the hero could finally rescue/get the girl, and tonight's took at least ten years to bring the couple together. I wonder if they all take decades for the happy ending to finally develop?). And somehow they walk the fine line between serious and pure farce. One moment you can't believe they take themselves seriously, the next they have you bawling like a baby. The one we watched tonight was also fun because part of it took place in the 80's, so the costumes were hilarious. Yeah, there's plenty of traditional sarees, but that's not what they wear when they're at school! And the huge dance numbers--amazing.

The only downside to a Bollywood flick is the need for subtitles. Although, there are plenty of phrases used in India now that are taken directly from English, that fairly often a character will suddenly shock me out of reading by speaking English. Oh, and the movies are long. They're intended to be watched with an intermission (which is even built into the DVD), so if you don't take a break you're in for a long haul. But this one didn't seem all that long. Either it was just that engrossing, or I've really built up my stamina from the Lord of the Rings films!

Bollywood is a great place to spend a Friday night. You should try it sometime.

-Kim

Movie Moments, Part 3

Here's the end of it. There would have been twice as many posts to cover the full collection, but the rest of them are in South Dakota, and so have been left out. What else did I think was important enough to bring halfway across the country? Read on to see.

Stranger Than Fiction

The scene in which Ana is telling Harold how she became a baker at law school always makes me hungry. I think that scene is meant to be one that the author wrote, because the way Ana lists the foods she baked sounds delicious, yet wooden. People don't really talk that way, but we accept reading them that way. It's fascinating to watch this movie and try to sort out which pieces of Harold's life have been written and which pieces he is simply living.

Finding Forrester

I love the scene when Jamal and William are discussing rules of grammar. William objects to Jamal beginning a sentence with a conjunction, and Jamal defends his decision, claiming it's not actually a rule of grammar but a convention. As they go back and forth about it, both characters intentionally begin their one-sentence pieces of dialogue with conjunctions. I'm a nerd, so it makes me smile.

Mulan

The best part is the song "I'll Make a Man Out of You." We get to see all of the main characters go from being completely pathetic to being actual warriors. Plus, the lyrics are totally macho and it's great fun to sing along to. Also, on the special edition second disc there is a video of Jackie Chan singing the song in Chinese and doing some sort of martial arts dance. It's incredibly funny, though unintentionally so.

Whisper of the Heart

There is a song the main character Shizuku sings in the middle of the movie. It's a new song that she's written to the tune of "Country Roads," and it encapsulates the theme of the movie--it's all about chasing dreams and facing challenges. Her new friend (or soon-to-be friend, after a brief shouting match) Seiji plays violin for her, and it sounds incredible. I fell in love with the movie the first time I watched it, and I was obsessed with this scene for about two weeks after that. It's even on my iPod!

Pride and Prejudice

It's actually two separate moments, but they convey the same idea. What strikes me about this movie, besides the romance, is the way that women were expected to behave and were mostly ignored as individuals. It comes out in conversation when Elizabeth asks how her sister is doing, and both times is answered by her location, not her state of being. First at Netherfield, then by her own mother when both girls have recently arrived home from their separate adventures.

Elizabeth: "I'm so sorry, how is my sister?"
Mr. Darcy: "She's upstairs."

Elizabeth: (of Jane) "How is she?"
Mrs. Bennet: "She's in the drawing room."

How could that be a sufficient answer? The first time it happens Elizabeth is more put off by Mr. Darcy's abrupt manner and her own discomfort, and the second time she clearly expects little better from her mother and is not surprised by it. But it still irks her, and it irks me too!

Sense and Sensibility

Any line delivered by Hugh Laurie is priceless. I love the quality of all the characters, even minor ones, in this film. The best may be the evil sister-in-law, especially in her reaction to learning that Lucy Steele is secretly engaged to Edward. The book glosses over what may have happened in that moment, but the movie shows us how Fanny throws aside her needlework, pushes Lucy off the couch and drags her across the room by her ear before throwing her out of the house. It makes me think of an angry monkey, which suits the character quite well.

Alex & Emma

Alex is an author who needs to finish his next book in 30 days to pay off his debt to Cuban loan sharks, and Emma is the stenographer he cons into helping him. I enjoy the whole concept of the story and the way the movie hope back and forth between the real characters and the action of the novel being composed. Toward the beginning they argue about how a character's name should be spelled, and he then puts their comments directly into the dialogue of the characters, which I find amusing and Emma doesn't.

What a Girl Wants

I know, I know, it's a cheesy, tween girl movie. But I still like it. For those of you who have no idea what it's about, it's Amanda Bynes going to England to meet her father, who is in the House of Lords and doesn't know she exists. Hilarity ensues as she tries to be the society girl he needs her to be while maintaining her own identity. She also gets to meet a cute English boy who can sing and play guitar--bonus points for that. A favorite moment would be when she pushes the archtypal creepy snob into the river at a regatta for trying to kiss her and insulting her boyfriend and then flees with her father on her boyfriend's motorcycle. If they were really concerned about public image, they should have stayed and straightened things out, but it was a lot more fun to flee, especially since it meant the boyfriend and his bandmates (working the gig parking cars) got to run interference with the press. Hijinks!

That Thing You Do

In all honesty, I haven't watched this entire movie yet. I picked it up for cheap at the Boston Public Library book sale last fall. I've seen most of it, just not the end--we were watching it in middle school music class, but I missed the day they finished it. When I have a spare moment I'll get to it. From what I have seen of it, my favorite part is when the band gets an agent and the first thing he wants to do is change their name from the Oneders to the Wonders because no one could pronounce it. One band member's response: "as in 'what ever happened to the Oh-need-ers'?"

-Kim

Movie Moments, Part 2

Yes, there is more. This will probably end up being three posts. Enjoy the next batch!

X-MEN

It's corny and cliche, but I really enjoy the moment when they're breaking into the Statue of Liberty to save Rogue, and Wolverine makes the metal detector go off, then feels the need to destroy the annoying machine. (Oddly enough, Cyclops doesn't--just what is his visor made of, then?) That, and the comment about yellow spandex, which, of course, would have looked rather ridiculous on Hugh Jackman, so it's a good thing they went with basic black for everyone. But a nod to the original is always in good taste.

X2: X-Men United

I just love that Nightcrawler got to be in this one. He was always my second favorite, right behind Wolverine. What is striking, though, is his conversation with Mystique in the forest. They are both more noticeably mutants than most of their friends because of their blue skin, and Nightcrawler asks why she doesn't make herself look normal all the time, since she has the ability. Her answer--"why should I have to." Even though she's one of the "bad guys" and we're supposed to hate her, she's right about that. They shouldn't have to hide who they are, and both groups are trying to make the world into a place where they will be accepted. I would have been Nightcrawler's friend, even with the blue skin. In my book he's cooler because of it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Captain Jack Sparrow. Need I saw more? Fine, I'll be more specific. I love his whole entrance into town: sailing in on a sinking ship and just barely reaching the dock but clearly unconcerned about it and then toying with the bumbling naval officers. I've always wanted to know just what story he was telling them when Elizabeth fell into the water. "And then they made me their chief." There must have been something good before that. Or perhaps it was simply prophetic, considering what takes place in the sequel.

Hidalgo

I love any movie with a horse or swords or epic-scale adventure. This one's got all three. What's best about it is the fact that it opens in South Dakota, and that the hero draws his strength from the midwest. Actually, the best line was cut from the final film but made it into the first round of previews. The shiekh is describing to Viggo's character just how dangerous the race across the desert will be, and he responds that "it sounds an awful lot like South Dakota." Man, I wish that one had made in into the actual film.

Sahara

So much better than the book. And I hope this is the only time I can ever say that. Seriously, don't get me started on how pathetic Clive Cussler's writing is. But I digress. The movie is comic genius. Best part? In the midst of the firefight on the river, Rudy, the computer nerd, gets into the action and when Dirk climbs back onto the boat Rudy tells him, "I shot a guy with a flare gun!" Also, in spite of how ridiculous all of their stunts are throughout the film (justified by the fact that they used to be navy seals), when Dirk jumps back onto their boat from the enemy's boat, he actually struggles a bit to pull himself over the rail. One moment of realistic action in an otherwise typically unbelievable escapade.

A Knight's Tale

Simple answer: "I will eviscerate you in fiction." Really, I could go with just about anything that Paul Bettany as Chaucer says. What impresses me most about his character is how they got his sentiments right. At the end he says "all of human activity lies within the artist's scope," which the real Chaucer certainly believed. It's a breath of truth in an otherwise completely anachronistic farce. But don't take that the wrong way--this is the best anachronistic movie I've ever seen and I love it.

National Treasure

I love watching this movie and continually shouting out, "I've been there!" It's now true of almost everywhere they go; I just need to spend some time in Philadelphia to complete the movie tour. Also, Riley is my favorite character by far, especially when he finally figures something out before Ben and gets to gloat over it--"Is this how you guys feel all the time?"

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Watching it for the first time, I was so excited when Lucy opened the wardrobe for the first time and three mothballs fell out, just like in the book. In spite of the changes they made later to the story, preserving little details like this is a comfort. And Mr. Tumnus was great. I love the look on his face as he charges pell-mell into the battle with no weapon and no armor, just his red scarf trailing behind him.

Big Fish

Two images stand out in my mind from this film. The first is the scene at the circus when Ewan McGreggor's character sees the love of his life for the first time and time literally stops. After he walks through the performers, the popcorn in the air comes back into time when he touches it and it falls to the floor. It's a spectacular image. The second is when he's trying to win the girl and fills the entire campus quad with Daffodils. I read somewhere that they used real flowers for that shot, not CGI. Imagine how long that must have taken to set up. The attention to detail is quite impressive.

Movie Moments

I saw this idea first on Katie's blog, then Dianna's. It's time I followed suit. I will go through all the DVDs on my shelf (in order), sharing with you my favorite moment or scene of each one to give you a taste of superior film quality, my own idiosyncrasies and my abnormal organizational system. You would think that, as a library student, I would keep my own shelves in alphabetical or in LC (Library of Congress) order, but I don't. My system only makes sense to me. This may be broken into several posts--it depends on how long things are getting. Here goes!

Star Wars: A New Hope

How do you dissect a classic? I first saw this one in the theater when it was re-released. I was in grade school at the time and pretty much latched on to the whole thing. The scenes in Mos Eisley are probably the best--so many different types of aliens doing very normal things. And our first meeting with Han in the cantina--priceless. Plus, now every time I watch it I hear Weird Al's "Star Wars Cantina" in my head (to the tune of "Car Wash").

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

The best sequence of events is that the hyperdrive never works, and both Han and Lando freak out about it. Even though its failure is a much bigger deal in regard to their immediate survival, both of them immediately worry more about their reputation than their lives, trying not to be blamed for the failure--"they told me they fixed it!"

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Any scene with Ewoks. I love the little furry guys! This one I had actually seen at least part of before the movies were re-released in the theater because we had taped it when it was on television, and we used to have a plastic plate with Ewoks on it. I wonder if this had anything to do with my current obsession with bears?

LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring

Again, classic. All the best humor comes any time Pippin opens his mouth. My favorite moment is probably from the extended edition (my copy has both theatrical and extended). After Frodo has been stabbed by the Nazgul, they are briefly camped under the stone trolls from The Hobbit. In the extended edition Sam actually gets to say something about it and try to distract Frodo from the pain by talking about the trolls "from Mr. Bilbo's story." It gives the movie a sense of more immediate history as well as the larger history that is present throughout. It's not just the heroes of ages past who did great things, but more immediate persons, like Bilbo who can be examples of courage for our new heroes to look to.

LOTR: The Two Towers

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

The irony of Sam's first statement is that they actually shouldn't be where they are when he is speaking--they never set foot in Osgiliath in the book. But the sentiment is still Tolkien's original, and I concur completely!

LOTR: The Return of the King

Other than the final happy ending? I love the way they animated the green ghostly figures of the dead from the mountain pass. My favorite single moment in the whole movie is watching the crowd of them swarm over an oliphaunt and bring it down. It's in the background, and we're really supposed to be watching Aragorn right then, but my eyes are on the ghosts. They strike me as being undead Smurfs, mostly because of the size difference between them and the animal they take down. Now there's an image for you!

Firefly (TV series)

Since this is a boxed set of the whole series, I'll modify the rules and pick a favorite episode. Not that such a change really makes things that much easier. Every episode is brilliant and witty, but the one I keep coming back to is "Shindig." It's early in the series, so we're still sort of feeling out who the characters are. Mal gets to defend Inara's honor in a duel, Kaylee gets to wear a frilly pink dress and Jayne gets to surprise us by correctly using the word "pretentious." Also, Badger is in this episode. Of all the minor characters, few of which get repeat appearances, he is by far my favorite--it's a shame he only ever got to be in two episodes. But the best part of this episode? The fact that what they end up smuggling is a herd of cattle. Ah, cowboys in space...

Serenity

Not quite as good as the series, because they made it feel more "spacey" to attract a broader theater audience, which messed up the rustic, homey feel of the series. The best part is the addition of the Mr. Universe character, played by David Krumholz (Charlie from Numb3rs). He's such a wacky character. Of course, it's hard for me to see that actor without thinking of The Santa Clause, so I always expect him to walk like he's got a permanent wedgie, like Bernard the elf did.

Stargate

I picked this movie up for cheap once because I had heard good things about the series. One of the best moments is that when Daniel finally realizes that he does know the language of the people and that we have always been just prnouncing ancient Egyptian incorrectly, he is far too busy exploring the linguistic possibilities to think of telling the soldiers that he may now be able to find then a way home. Oh, academics, still needing to be reminded of the priority of survial, even on alien worlds.

Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton has an incredible skill for making the errie benign and the normal downright creepy. His plasic suburbia is by far mor disturbing than the abandoned castle on the hill. The whole thing is tragic, but I'll choose an entertaining moment for this post. The way the ladies of the neighborhood set up their street corner gossip circle and pounce on Edward as soon as he appears is hilarious--they really do have nothing better to do than keep track of everyone else's business.