I'm so sorry, my darlings, that I have been neglectful, but things have changed in Quesadelia Land (it's an actual place!), and I've had some thinking to do. Especially about this past year, ol' 2 thousand and 9. It was a weird one, no? It was...
The Year of Douchebag Famewhores (and even those who didn't mean to be famewhores but ended up being a douchebags)
- Jon Gosselin became Father of the Year, while wifey Kate took advantage of his cheatin', schemin' ways to garner pity and cash in- all to raise her huge brood, of course.
- Octomom became a household name, because she is not actually human but rather a spider who can lay hundreds of eggs at once.
- Balloon Boy sailed across the sky for a couple of nail-biting hours, at least we thought at the time. Manipulating the press and emergency services to become famous? Low. Manipulating your kids in order to manipulate the press to become famous? Pathetic.
- A couple crashed a party at the White House and became famous overnight. Congrats, annoying couple! Maybe after you pay your hefty fine (if you don't actually go to jail or something), you can earn it back by teaching classes on how to pose for pictures with Heads of State. That draping-over-the-Vice-President feat was impressive!
- Squeaky clean, super famous, super rich athlete Tiger Woods was busted for lustful excess. Are we really surprised? And do we really have sympathy for the Mrs.? I mean, it kind of sucks for her, but I'm thinking theirs was not exactly the love story of the decade. He was a rising star, and he bought her, and then he bought everything else he wanted. So now we know he's human. Let's move on.
The Year of Perplexing Celebrity Deaths
To be fair, every year we lose someone very famous, and that person is young, and we are all very sad. And interested in how/why it happened. But this year, it did feel like, for a while there, public figures were dropping like flies.
- We lost Natasha Richardson early in the year, and her death was sobering and tragic. She hit her head on a ski slope, and then she was gone. It didn't seem fair.
- Then we lost MICHAEL JACKSON, and who saw that one coming? In retrospect, yes, it was just a matter of time, but still. There was no one more famous, and there was no one with more cringe-inducing factors going into his demise.
- We lost Farrah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze to cancer.
- Now Brittany Murphy? Weird, sad, tragic.
I hope, when (if) I go to Heaven, I see all my favorite celebrities. May they be at peace.
The Year South Carolina Puts Itself on the Map
Fun Fact #1: My sister had a date with Governor Mark Sanford back when she was a debutante and he was a 20-something bachelor from a prominent family. She only remembered this fact when he made the news this year, in his very classy way. Then she thanked her lucky stars that they only had the one date, and she ended up marrying a cowboy from rural Georgia.
Fun Fact #2: That douche who heckled the President in the fall is my Dad's Congressman. I don't think he voted for him, but still.
Fun Fact #3: My Dad is always calling his Senator, Republican Lindsey Graham, an "asshole." (That's just a fun, bonus fact for S.C.)
Oh, and also, Gov. Mark Sanford refused (or tried to refuse?) the President's stimulus money to his state.
South Carolina: Proud and prouder!
The Year of Transition for Quesadelia
After more than a few uninspiring and career distracting jobs, Quesadelia is forced to succumb to her destiny and teach music. I may regret saying this, but I'm kind of glad the whole Recession thing happened. At least for me (and of course, it's all about MEEEEE), it has forced me to re-think, re-design, and start over. As a result, however, I will be stopping this blog. Oh, I'll still blog somewhere, but right now, I have to hunker down and write a bunch of articles for my teaching website, not to mention maintain the site, practice music, advertise, and start up another business or two. I have plans! And I kind of have to protect my online identity.
So, this is goodbye, at least for now. May 2010 be full of luck and blessings for you. I hope you will send me some good vibes, too. I will be in touch.
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(500) Days of Summer: mini review
I think this may be my favorite movie this year! So sweet, funny, creative, touching, real: all this without taking itself too seriously or becoming too indie or precious. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is super charming, and I couldn't stop thinking how much he reminded me of Heath Ledger! Though less intense. I think he is my newest crush. Zooey Deschanel is also lovely, albeit a bit wicked. I love how the story is told (jumping around in time, while still keeping a line), and I love some of the creative elements of the cinematography. It is a simple story but timeless and relatable (I think that's a word??). And let me tell you, what I relief to watch this after I just saw Revolutionary Road! (Sheesh)
Synecdoche, New York
After I rehearsed the pronunciation of this title and looked up what it meant - shut up; I was not an English major!- I watched this movie with pride in my superior knowledge. And then my brain got damaged. I was not an English major because I may or may not have used Cliff's Notes in high school, and after about an hour of this film, I was seriously wondering if Cliff's Notes existed for Synecdoche. Because I was seriously lost and beginning to resent it. And then, then! - yes, this film is a journey!- I began to realize something. It's all a dream. Have you ever woken up and thought, "I just dreamed that my house was on fire, but I was living in it, and there were a bunch of doppelgangers of me and other people running around, and then I went to an art exhibit and looked at very tiny canvases through a magnifying glass"? If you have, you may have seen this film already. So, I don't know what else to say about it except, if you are thinking about doing drugs, or want to have really vivid dreams, try Synecdoche instead.
He's Just Not That Into You
This movie had so many strikes against it going in: self-proclaimed "chick flick," many famous people in the cast (that rarely works), based on a self-help book (??). I had no interest in seeing it, but a girlfriend of mine convinced me to go with a group of girls (ugh) to see it, and I begrudgingly agreed. You know what? It wasn't half bad. I even laughed out loud, in several spots! Thankfully, this film never takes itself seriously, despite some of the serious plot lines, and there are some good old-fashioned comic moments. Desperate, needy characters are human and even charming, and despicable characters get their come-uppance. As long as you don't take the film seriously, which many critics have - why has no one a sense of humor anymore? - HJNTIY is good for a laugh. It also made me thankful I'm not single anymore.
Slumdog Millionaire
This film is getting a lot of hype lately, but it's justified. It's everything a film should be: inspiring, touching, and exciting. If you don't yet know what the film is about, take advantage of your ignorance and just go see it. I don't know what else to say about it except that it is the best movie I've seen in a while (since Man on Wire, actually), and I hope it sweeps the Oscars. A big win (or wins) for Slumdog would prove that life imitates art, and it would also hand it to Hollywood, who hasn't come up with something this good in a long while. Film bonus: don't expect "Bollywood" here, but there is a Bollywood dance at the end. I think they just couldn't resist.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: mini review
I went to see this because I thought Marley would be too depressing on Christmas. (And: Team Brad!). Turns out, B.B. is the third most depressing movie I have ever seen (can you guess the other two?). They took a lovely, interesting short story and inflated it with a big ol' bike pump till it almost burst with drama. The entire set-up of the story - the way it is "told" - is entirely unnecessary, and one sub-plot could have ended up on the cutting room floor and not made any difference. Still, I liked the film. The acting is all very good, the cinematography picturesque, and the story makes you think; but, here's the thing: you start to really think about it and you get really, really sad. So, bring kleenex, or, if you don't need a good cry, skip it.
Man on Wire: mini review
Again with the French! If you were alive in 1974, you may have remembered a man tightrope walking between the two World Trade Center towers. He did it without a net or harness, and he walked back and forth eight times. I won't tell you if he survived it (although you can just as easily look it up), but I will say that the man, Philippe Petit, was one crazy dude. This film is a documentary about his dream to string a cable a 1/4 mile up between the towers, which were not even built yet when he read about them and got the idea, and his six years of planning the stunt. The film includes artistic dramatizations of past events - the ones not captured on film - and present-day commentary from some of his co-conspirators, helpers, and friends. It is amazing and inspiring. Fun fact: he made his "walk" the day before Nixon resigned, so it's possible it would have been an even bigger story if the Prez hadn't immediately eclipsed it.
Elegy: mini review
Ben Kingsley is getting around with the ladies quite a lot recently, no? I blame his agent. Elegy is really just a photo album of Penelope Cruz, who wears three (!) distinctive hairstyles in this film to depict the passing of time. Also, her boobies play a supporting role. Kingsley is a sleazy (but not supposed to be, I think) professor who sleeps with his students and doesn't like marriage. The only interesting part of this film is Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Kingsley's ratty, snooty, spoiled son with an impressive amount of snoot and sneer. This movie made me weary, and now I am weary of this review.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona: mini review
Thank you, Woody, for restoring my faith in American cinema (even if you had to do it in Europe). If you're a fan Mr. Allen, and if you like Spain, you'll love V.C.B. Of course, it should go without saying that if you like girls, you'll love the promise of a Cruz/Johansson threesome, and if you like boys: Bardem, baby. He smolders! He seduces! He's not psycho! (But his ex-wife is) Seriously, though; V.C.B. is entertaining at the least, provocative at most. Plenty of Allen-esque neuroses coming out of the mouths of the characters, and plenty of comedy, plus a dash of pathos, just to keep it grounded. Most enjoyable are the scenes between Bardem and Cruz, especially when he badgers her to "speak English!" for the sake of his new lady. Rebecca Hall also turns in an interesting performance.
Tell No One: mini review
Tell No One marks the third French thriller I've seen this year. The first one I saw, Roman de Gare, was stunning; I really need to write a little review. Tell No One, on the other hand, is a fun, twisty thrill ride. Like Roman, you never know what's going to happen next, and the characters could be dark or light, innocent or guilty; they are constantly changing and keep you guessing. A pediatrician whose wife is murdered (or is she?), a richer-than-God politician, a complicated police officer, Kristen Scott Thomas as a beautiful, French lesbian, an adorable dog (who is also an important role), and a timeless love story all make up this intelligent mystery. Word to Hollywood: France is burying us this year in cinema.
The Dark Knight: mini review
As a fan of Batman - though not a completely geeked-out fan - I was so thoroughly satisfied by this film. It raises the bar. It blows other superhero movies out of the water. All the performances are good, but Heath Ledger's Joker is out of this world. You wonder how much that role cost him, and you suspect too much, seeing as how things ended for this wonderful actor. I heart Christian Bale, but I would have been very happy watching the Joker for 2 hours.