diary Archive: June, 2009.



june 29, 2009
going up? fuck, no!

When I was a kid I had an almost debilitating fear of heights. It was really bad. And escalators - I would rather have dropped dead than get on one. Strangely enough these fears just evaporated with no lasting effects in my adolescence. But lo and behold - here in my late 30's I am becoming fearful of heights again... certainly not to the same degree as when I was a child... but it's there. As for escalators - I'm not thrilled with them. So what's up with that? There was nothing to cause my original fear of heights, nothing to have made it go away and nothing to have made it come back. Just when I think I couldn't get any stranger (by the rest of the world's standards), I come out of the box with new facets of my oddness. I find this all so curious. I have to remember to talk to Dr. A___ about it. But if anyone reading this has any theories about it - please let me know. At this point I'm not discounting any light that might be shed... be it from flashlight or floodlight. In the meantime I will keep a stiff upper lip when encountering heights and those fucking escalators. Shoulders back, chest out, etc, etc.



june 27, 2009
accept it

Saw this hand-written sign in a store: "GIFT CARDS NOW EXCEPTED." Eeeep!



june 27, 2009
dvd review: madame sata

Based on the colourful and explosive life of Joao Francisco dos Santos. Santos was a complex figure - a collection of contradictions with an explosive temperament. I liked this film on a lot of levels (which is always a good and rare thing). What I appreciated the most was having a portrayal of a gay man who wasn't a fearful. effeminate, flower-dying-on-the-vine creature. How rare it is to see a portrayal of a homosexual who just didn't take shit from anyone - even though it would land him in prison on more than one occasion. As a gay man who doesn't take shit either I felt a kind of vindication after having sat through so many films where gay men are just some kind of bullshit caricature.... to which I say a big "Fuck you." As a bonus the movie is quite good, the acting superb with a highly entertaining mosaic of music and colour.
Orchidbau Movie Meter: 8.0/10



june 24, 2009
on the scene

I overheard this conversation in a waiting room....
Girl A: "Are you still seeing that guy? He's really hot."
Girl B: "Yeah he's really hot, but I'm just not into the whole schizophrenic scene."
I had to bite my tongue very hard to keep from laughing out loud. And, believe it or not, the conversation just got stranger from there. Oh my.



june 24, 2009
out and about with orchidbau

Check out a new series of photos I took recently... click here to have a look.



june 23, 2009
dvd review: bad education

Writer/director Pedro Almodovar scores big points with me for this flick. It was NOT what I was anticipating at all.... I really misjudged this one. Why were my assumptions so far off? How were the pyramids built? There are some questions that just can't be answered. I am, at times, a mysterious man, a man who delivers bouquets of ideas with seductive eyes and a REALLY big..........oh - wait, sorry I got way off track there for a minute? What were we talking about? Oh, yeah. So, yes, good film, colourful, sharp, funny and poignant with a little mystery and an inventive look at how our histories are ultimately stories that may be interpreted quite differently from one person to the next. I sound so deep... chalk it up to the humidity.
Orchidbau Movie Meter: 8.0/10



june 21, 2009
dvd review: cache

I am more than willing to stand on the top of the highest building and sing the praises of writer/director Michael Haneke (and pretend I'm Superman while I'm up there, but that's a whole different ball of wax). He's yet to disappoint me even remotely. "Cache" develops and delivers elements that only Haneke can while creating new ones that leave you excited by the possibilities and the questions that are the result. That's really a big part of the fun with anything Haneke does - turning it over and over in your mind, mapping out different theories about the story. Haneke leaves you thinking and leaves you with the tension he created. Always amazing. So far I have three different theories about the story - watch it and I promise that you will too.
Orchidbau Movie Meter: 9.4/10



june 21, 2009
dvd review: friday the 13th (2009 remake)

In this "re-imagined" telling of a franchise that boasted more than 8 sequels and a television series, we are reminded of a sad truth - the teen slasher flick is dead. Sad to see this genre fall away but horror continues to evolve and offer new sub-genres that do for horror fans now what the original "Friday The 13th" did for us back in 1980. Not that this remake isn't a good film on its own.... the kills are inventive and tense and there is a scare factor so I can't say that it was awful.... just that it's time to say "rest in peace" to a genre.
Orchidbau Movie Meter: 6.1/10



june 21, 2009
dvd review: choke

Adapted from the novel by Chuck Palahniuk - which I enjoyed very much. I always say that a book and a movie are two very different things and it's unfair to compare one with the other.... but in the case of this one I can't help myself and the movie comes out on the bottom. The novel was so much better than the film (for me). I can best sum it all up by telling you that "Fight Club" (based on another of Palahniuk's books) ran about 139 minutes long (which is just too long for ANY film to be). "Choke" ran a mere 92 minutes and, yet, the novel itself is much longer than "Fight Club." This just makes my head hurt - it's like those damn math problems... If a train heading west at 60 mph leaves..." Shorter book - longer movie. Longer book - shorter movie. Huh? Oh well - Anjelica Huston was funny and poignant in equal measures. The film would have scored far lower (from me) without Huston in it. Blah, blah, blah. I'm done with this one.
Orchidbau Movie Meter: 5.9/10



june 21, 2009
dvd review: laid to rest

Inventive, vicious kills, a bit of humor (but not too much - I hate comedic horror films), tight and tense and a formidable villain, Chrome Skull. Adds up to a pretty good flick that I was prepared to dismiss. Does Chrome Skull have what it takes to stand next to Jason, Leatherface and other classic horror killers? It may take a sequel or two to do that... on it's own, I'd say no.
Orchidbau Movie Meter: 7.0/10



june 1, 2009
goldilocks meets aimee

Over Vietnamese cuisine she explained the story of "Goldilocks And The Three Bears" to him as he said he'd never heard of it. She didn't know that she was subjugating herself to his will and that he really didn't care to begin with. It had all the makings of an Aimee Mann song.



june 1, 2009
dvd review: salo, or the 120 days of sodom

One of the most controversial films of all time that has detractors by the zillions and defenders who will sound the battle cry in its defense of what the detractors describe as utterly vile, pornographic, disgusting, profane, etc. So much debate about whether writer/director Pier Paolo Pasolini intended it to be a thought provoking political commentary or merely exploitation and surrealism. Either way it is fascinating and I recommend it whole heartedly. If your stomach is even remotely touchy though I would stay away. Even I got a bit queasy. Criterion did a nice job with the dvd - beautifully packaged with a book and a disc of extra features. The funny thing (to me at least) about "Salo" is that while it is among the most debated films of all times, it is also the least seen film. Made in 1976 and banned all over the place it has been a bitch to track down until Criterion took it on and really did it justice.
Orchidbau Movie Meter: 8.9/10



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