Can't Hold On

Man, the bottomless black spiral of our meaningless existence sure made it difficult to meet up sometimes.

I've been impressed by a lot of cartoons/animation projects I've seen recently. It's not that the images are so complex (because they're usually not), but because that the characters portrayed evoke some pretty powerful emotions despite the relative simplicity of their designs. It's something I find pretty inspiring, especially considering how cartoony my own style is.

BONUS PIC:

I'm not all that thrilled with the above picture, mostly because the "speed-lines" (or whatever they're called) wind up looking a little too jumbled. Oh, well. Live and learn (and screw up a couple times along the way).

What Should I Read Next?

A friend of mine posted a link to What Should I Read Next?, a website which purports to be able to recommend books you should read based on books you've previously read. Now, I've seen this feature at work in a commercial setting, like Barnes and Noble, where they tend not to take too many risks ("If you like The Room Over The Fragrant Roses, you might like The Room Over The Fragrant Roses Strikes Back!"), so I'm a little curious how this website will work. I decided to run through a bunch of the books I've been reading recently, and we'll see what we get back.

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

• Without Feathers, by Woody Allen
• Sharon Osbourne Extreme: My Autobiography, by Sharon Osbourne
• Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them): A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, by Al Franken

The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler

• Sandkings, by George R.R. Martin
• The Thin Man, by Dashiell Hammett
• Fat Ollie's Book, by Ed McBain

Still Life With Oysters and Lemon, by Mark Doty

• Living Well Is the Best Revenge , by Calvin Tomkins
• State of Denial, by Bob Woodward
• The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History, by Robert Darnton

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
• Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown
• Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

Bossypants, by Tina Fey

• Kiss of the Spiderwoman, by Manuel Puig
• Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness, by Bryan Lee O'Malley
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

• Mary Poppins, by P.L. Travers
• An Ideal Husband, by Oscar Wilde
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs

• Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James
• Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes
• Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank

Leadership and Self-Deception, by the Arbinger Institute

• Mind Wide Open: Why You Are What You Think, by Steven Johnson
• The Fifth Discipline: Art and Practice of the Learning Organization , by Peter M. Senge
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, by Seth Godin

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, by David Lubar

• I Am the Wallpaper, by Mark Peter Hughes
• Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines 1: Rebel Dream, by Aaron Allston
• Hitler's Daughter, by Jackie French

Maus: A Survivor's Tale , by Art Spiegelman

• Feminist Theory: From Margin to Centre, by Bell Hooks
• From Hell, by Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell, and Phil D. Amara
• Nausea, by Jean-Paul Satre

The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis

• Selected Poems, by Emily Dickinson
• How Right You Are, Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse, Eddie Campbell, and Phil D. Amara
• Charly, by Jack Weyland

Horrorshow: What Lies Beneath

I'm actually still not sure what to make of this movie. What Lies Beneath didn't come recommended to me in any fashion; it's just something my roommate had sitting on his shelf. And... well, I thought it was pretty good, but there are of course some qualifications.

About half and hour into the movie, I got a feeling that I'd seen this story already. Then, another half-hour later, I felt like I was watching a completely different but still familiar film. In fact, What Lies Beneath felt like a mix-tape of about every horror film trope I've come to be familiar with.

Luckily, the actors carry these tropes off pretty well - especially Michelle Pfeiffer who, considering the only other movie I've seen her in, is a much better actress than I expected. Harrison Ford (who is VERY good) tips his hand a bit early on, revealing the twist within the first half-hour; however, I lay the blame for that on the script rather than the actor.

Above all else, though, there are the bathtub scenes. These scenes are surprisingly intense, even if a little silly (There's a drug that paralyzes completely except for a person's eyeballs?). Still, you get a real sense of dread, especially as the killer maintains a casual tone while filling up the tub. That stuff's pretty chilling.

My schedule's getting a bit busier this week, so I may not have time for any more horror flicks before Halloween. Wish I'd gotten a few more genuine scares this year. Well, there's always 2013...

This Blog Post Contains Material Some Audiences May Find Objectionable

Okay, so I've been debating writing this post for several weeks now. In fact, I've drafted it, then deleted it, and then drafted it again.

Then someone went and picked on Charlie Brown, and that's a line in the sand you just don't cross.

So here we go.

I like to think I've made my opinion on censorship clear. I'm all for people exercising their own discretion in selecting what entertainment they choose to indulge in - heaven knows I do. But I take issue with people who call for societal censorship towards material that they find offensive - especially when they prove unable to understand what the material they are protesting actually stands for.

A friend of mine posted a link to a Mormon housewife blog decrying violence in the media. Now, this article really ticked me off; however (and this is the reason I've put off writing this post for so long), I ultimately decided that, even though the article is full of argumentative fallacies (see especially the debate the author had with her college friend in the middle), the bulk of my hard feelings were coming from the comments section - and even the most naive internet dweller learns pretty quickly to stay away from the comments section of any post if they want to continue having a good day.

In the Women in the Scriptures post, commenter after commenter condemns the violence in The Hunger Games - and, yeah, I feel pretty strongly about that story. Again, if someone doesn't want to watch the violence of The Hunger Games, I get that. I even understand someone finding a story full of so much violence to be morally offensive. But to condemn the story for glorifying violence - as so many people do - profoundly misinterprets the theme.

Yeah, the violence is jarring and disturbing. It's supposed to be. The Hunger Games is a criticism of the despicable behaviors audiences endorse in their entertainment choices and is meant to shock people out of their complacency. Just because the story depicts violent acts, doesn't mean that encourages them.

That brings me back to the Charlie Brown article above. The author calls "It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" outdated and irrelevant because of the lax attitude the story takes towards bullying. I think I could see the author's point... if I believed for one second that there's some little girl out there who really wants to be Lucy Van Pelt.

Yes, the Charlie Brown stories depict a lot of bullying and a lot of name-calling... BUT (and, in case you missed it, that's a big "BUT") the audience is invited to sympathize, not with the bullies, but with Charlie Brown. As a result, the audience doesn't walk away from a Charlie Brown story thinking that bullying is "cool" or whatever. They are invited to think about how a bullied person feels.

"That's a pretty sophisticated line of thinking," I hear you say. "Are you sure kids are going to pick up on that?" Well, maybe not, but I know I did. As a kid - eight years old - I loved Peanuts. Still do. I remember very distinctly, at eight years old, reading Peanuts and feeling outraged at the way Lucy treated Charlie Brown. To this day, she remains one of the five fictional characters I wish were real so I could punch them in the face.*

That... um... that little confession may counteract my entire argument.

I said it before, but I'm really devoted to making my point clear, so I'll say it again:

A depiction of violence is not an endorsement of violence.

The same goes for all the other "vices" that pop up in media. Characters using foul language may be using that language to underscore a point different that "profanity is cool." Sexuality is often portrayed in decidedly unsexy ways. You're more than welcome to skip out on that stuff, but it does no good to call for a society-wide ban on such material. Most audiences are intelligent enough to suss out the difference between what a story depicts and what it actually promotes.

And, seriously, if you're not smart enough to understand frickin' Charlie Brown, you probably don't have the right to an opinion anymore.

* - If you're curious, the other four are all Katy Perry.

Poem of the Week

Ode to the Bat

By Aldo Gomez

I love your scowl.
Biff bam zow
Let me under your cowl.
Love me now.

***

My buddy Aldo works in a comic book store next to the city library. He texts me the other day: "It sounds like they're doing slam poetry here outside the library. I have people wandering in the store waiting for it."

I think that's funny, so I respond, as if I were a customer, "Excuse me, but is there a poetry reading in here? I hope it's about Batman."

Then Aldo wrote a poem about Batman. The end.

The Absolute, Definitive List of S.R. Braddy's All-Time, Never Been Topped Favorite (for now) Movies, EVER!

I've actually been making a "Top Ten Movies" list for years. Like, literally, back in 2009 or 2010, I sat down at Village Inn and started writing up my list of favorite movies. Ranked it and everything. For some reason, though, I never got around to actually putting it up on the blog.

Well, no longer. I know I've done pretty much nothing BUT talk about movies the last few weeks, but now that one of my friends has beaten me to the punch, I can't afford to put this off a day more. So, with great pride, I present to you The Absolute, Definitive List of S.R. Braddy's All-Time, Never Been Topped Favorite (for now) Movies, EVER!

And, no, before you ask, Tangled did NOT make the cut.

10 - Penelope

Of all the movies on my list... this sure is one of them. Probably the strangest choice, too. I can't honestly explain why I'm so fond of Penelope. When I finished watching it the first time, though, I wanted to immediately pop it in the player and watch it again. That's a feeling I haven't been able to shake nor argue with.

If I HAD to give a reason, it'd probably be the cast. Especially James McAvoy and Peter Dinklage. Those two are great.

9 - The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Man, what can I say about this movie that I haven't already said? A combination of old-timey stop-motion animation, top voice acting from some real heavy hitters, and some of the sharpest writing I've ever heard in a film. It's a film that's both heavy and hilarious. Well worth a watch to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

8 - Porco Rosso

I watched through a ton of Studio Ghibli's films recently, and loved each and every one of them (even the ones that are pretty ridiculously bad ). I may prefer the music in My Neighbor Totoro, the characers of The Secret World of Arriety, or the intensity of Spirited Away; however, for the best balance of humor, adventure, and magic, I've gotta give the top spot to Porco Rosso. Seriously, it's a beautiful pic.

7 - Psycho

What, you didn't think I just watch happy little G-rated kid movies, did you?

I knew everything about Psycho before I watched it. Everything. Every twist, every quote, every surprise. AND YET, this film STILL scared the pants off me. Good thing no one else was in the room, because then they'd have had to see me pantsless.

6 - Stranger than Fiction

Some movies you just can't evict once they've taken up residence under your skin. That's how I feel about Stranger than Fiction. From the first moment I watched it, I related to just about every character - except for maybe Emma Thompson's Karen Eiffel. I wanted to be her... which actually sounds pretty unhealthy, now that I've written that down. I mean, she's kind of a miserable person.

Still wrote a good story, though.

5 - Modern Times

Once upon a time, I hated movies. I thought they were the lowest form of entertainment, and could only be considered worthwhile if they were "intellectual" movies. Then, one day, my English professor broke out this comedy classic, and we analyzed how Chaplin's antics mirrored the anxieties of a newly industrialized society. From that point on, I realized comedy and "intellectual stimulation" could, in fact, go hand in hand. Modern Times literally changed the way I view entertainment. How could I not love it?

4 - 500 Days of Summer

I recently found out there are some people who hate this movie, especially Zooey Deschanel's character. I can't help it, though - this movie speaks to me. I've been Tom. I dated a girl whom I over-idealized, I was devastated by the break up for no good reason, and, from that misery, I made a monumental decision that's made my life a lot more work, but, ultimately a happier one. So suck on that, haters. This is my movie.

3 - The Dark Knight

I loved this movie from the moment the Joker unmasked to the ridiculous line, "The hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now" (I still don't get that). I loved the magic tricks, the coin flips, and all the crazy twists and turns the plot takes. This is still the best superhero movie - entertaining, optimistic, and yet oh-so-dark.

2 - The Prestige

"Are you watching closely?"

We've come a long way from the kiddie flicks, haven't we? The Prestige is one of the meatiest movies I've ever watched. It's packed with themes of duality, dire warnings against obsession, and the ever-frustrating juxtaposition of childlike wonder and cynicism we all face as we grow up. This movie hurts, and in a good way.

1 - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Look, I can't help it, okay? Like with Penelope, I wanted to watch this movie again the minute the closing credits rolled. Like with 500 Days of Summer, I felt like I was seeing an aspect of my life on the screen, only blown up and presented in a truly ridiculous fashion. Scott Pilgrim allowed me to take a look at my life, shake my head and say, "You know, I can do better than that."

Also, it let me watch Michael Cera snark with Kieron Culkin while fighting Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, and Chris Evans, a thing I didn't know I needed until I had it.

Okay, so that's it - my irrefutably set-in-stone favorite movie list, and it will never ever be changed at all ever again, period.

Honorable Mentions

Lilo and Stitch
The Fountain
Hugo
Pan's Labyrinth
City Lights
The Illusionist
Casablanca
Beauty and the Beast
The Rocketeer

Horrorshow: The Changeling

Hey, look! It's a legit horror film! How about that?

The Changeling has been recommended to me more times (and more insistently) than just about any other horror film. I put it off for a while... because apparently that's what I do when people recommend things to me. Got a chance to watch it last night, and... well, I was pretty pleasantly surprised.

I've only ever seen one other George C. Scott movie, despite the fact that he's one of the more prominent actors in Hollywood history, and that earlier film was an adaptation of A Christmas Carol, so it didn't provide me with much insight into the performance I got. Scott's character never seems like he's being terrified by the peculiar goings-on in the house he's rented - if anything, he just gets more and more motivated to uncover the truth. Honestly, I almost prefer that approach in horror films than the usual terrified victim routine. Or maybe that was just this film. Either way, I approve.

My favorite aspect of the film is, surprisingly, the title: it references an element from Irish (I think) folklore that doesn't literally figure in to the plot. However, the titular beastie does appear in a metaphorical sense. It's subtle, but incredibly apt.

As for the scare factor... well, it's strange, but I don't find myself getting all that frightened by these movies - not like the crop I watched two years ago. Dated production values in The Changeling make some of the intended scares seem cheap and almost laughable. There are a few genuinely frightening moments, but nothing that made me squirm in my seat.

Maybe it's just those darn violent video games again.

Okay, so it wasn't all that scary to me. That doesn't mean it wasn't a good movie. In fact, I think The Changeling is in the running for the best horror movie I've seen this year, which, given some of the other films I've seen, may sound like a faint-praise damnation. But, trust me, it's pretty good.