« June 2007 | Main | August 2007 »
July 07, 2007
Husbands & Wives
So I finally saw the film that everyone said Sidewalks of New York was a poor man's version of. And I disagree. While they definitely use the same motif, they use it in different ways - Woody tries desperately hard to be realistic in his portrayal of intertwined New Yorkers, while Ed allows for some movie magic. Not to mention that I think Ed has a much better relationship with the opposite sex.
Seriously, could Woody Allen have a more screwed up notion of the female gender? Why is it that almost every female character in any Woody film is either a conniving bitch, a waif waiting for an older man to set her straight, a cold, highly opinionated NYer who can't relax enough to experience the passion of sex, or some combination of the above? It's clearly gotten to the point that no matter how good I think he is at his craft - and clearly the man can write and act like himself quite well - I've simply grown tired of his crappy portrayals of my gender.
Husbands & Wives is a decent movie. It even inspired Roger to write a real review, rather than simply rehash the plot. Vincent Canby also wrote a great review of the film in the NYT back in the day.
I just have a really hard time giving my full support to the non-stop negative portrayal of my gender. Traditional romantic comedies are not the answer - I like my female role models dumb just as much as I like them conniving bitches. At some point in the future, there will be more female writers, directors, and producers; and there will be more male writers, directors, and producers who understand that while there are gender differences, portraying all females as stereotypes is as realistic as black face performances.
Rotten Tomatoes entry.
IMDB entry.
Posted by cj at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)
Live Earth 07-07-07
Here's what I really don't understand about the organizers of global concerts: they apparently think the US ends at the East Coast. First it was the Live 8 series - which got as far as Philly. That concert series was plagued by critics saying rockstars were trying to speak for Africans and not even allowing African musicians to speak for their countrymen.
Anyway, this Live Earth series is about something a little closer to home: how we in the developed world are ruining the entire world with our over-consumption. And yes, I'm contributing to that by sitting in my air-conditioned house watching concerts on my over-heating laptop.
So here's the thing: this time, we US'ians got two concerts. Two concerts about two hours apart from each other. Why the hell are their concerts in DC and NYC but nowhere else in the damn States?!?! For goodness sake, the country does not end when you stop seeing the Atlantic Ocean. Give me a concert in Chi-town or Los Angeles, or any other city not on the Eastern seaboard.
I got to say, other than a video on dying man-made lake in Australia, I haven't bothered with the message of this concert series. Instead, I've watched some anonymous world music, Jack Johnson and Crowded House in Australia, recorded Shakira and Foo Fighters in London, and now I'm waiting for Madonna to come on.
Reminds me of when Madonna was on stage at Live 8 with a woman who in her childhood was the face of starvation in Africa. It was an extremely surreal moment, esp since the African woman didn't understand when she was supposed to obsequiously walk off stage and allow Madonna to return to her regularly scheduled rockstar life.
Posted by cj at 01:19 PM | Comments (0)
July 02, 2007
i am...
I am a "charismatic presence." My friends wrote it on their wedding thank you card, so it must be true.
The phrase makes me laugh a little. It sounds pompous coming from me, but so amusing coming from people who signed the card with their URL.
Posted by cj at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)
July 01, 2007
Lite Reading in the Sunday NYT
Men are spending an enormous amount of time dressing their avatars.
Married women have too much time on their hands - they write really boring messages to their husbands and then waste the space of the Modern Love column sharing the deets of their broken foot misery with the rest of humanity.
Love doesn't last for most people longer than 3 years. Seriously folks, who needs love? It's summer - bring on the flings! Buy me a drink and I'll tell you my new mantra, which I learned from a wise woman.
Ride the Pony sounds like it's related to the above article. Actually, it's a children's game. And they must have made kids a lot skinnier back in the '50s when it was popular. More on the demise of street games in NY in this random article - I was so fascinated that someone could write this many words on this inane topic, that I read every word of it.
The Travel Section this weekend blows. I think the good writers are busy traveling. I was amused by the call out in this section to a new, luxury class flight available from NYC to Mumbai. Amused b/c the same flight - with the same photo - paid for a full page color ad in the front section. That line between advertising and reporting just got a little blurrier.
Those crazy Mass residents are still trying to make their for-profit healthcare for all work. No one - or at least no one the reporter spoke with - mentioned that a system built on the premise that someone should legally profit from someone else's ill health is morally wrong and a violation of a basic human right. But who cares what the American Public Health Association thinks? That "most liberal of states" figured out a way to get the volunteer activists in bed with the corporate hacks.
Racial tensions still abound in Atlanta. If you need proof, go read about Br'er Rabbit.
Posted by cj at 11:51 AM | Comments (0)