The Pianist, TRON, JCVD, and...

This post is going to be long and full of many delicious things. Two things are responsible:

1. I forgot to post on Monday (my deepest apologies), but I had stuff to post on Monday, so I'm making up for it.

2. I'm leaving for northern California tomorrow night and won't be back until Tuesday. If I can post, I will, but it's at least as unlikely as it is possible. So this post will hopefully hold you over until next week.

First off, I felt extremely compelled to discuss my recent experience with a very great film. This is what I was primarily going to talk about on Monday: The Pianist. I had this film from Netflix for a few days before I got around to watching it, and I ultimately decided Sunday afternoon was a good spot. See, it's a Holocaust film, and I consider the subject matter somewhat sacred.

If Sundays are for emotional experiences, then it was a good decision. I cried almost all the way through. I'm not the sobbing sort, as I've mentioned before, but I'm sure my eyes weren't totally dry from about ten minutes in to about thirty minutes after.

And here's the thing--cheap sentimentality doesn't work at all for me. What's remarkable about this film is that the deep sadness it invokes is absolutely earned, and absolutely real. A great film will stand you next to its characters and help you live through them vicariously, and it will make sure that those experiences are genuine, realistic, and powerfully meaningful.

I don't want to summarize this film beyond telling you its about a pianist who lived through the Holocaust in Warsaw.

Lately, I've been obsessed with WWII, the Holocaust, and Nazi Germany. The primary impetus for this obsession has been the fact that I'm right in the middle of reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a book which I very much recommend, and which I'll probably talk much more about later.

For now, I'll move on...

...to TRON! As it turns out, there's a new film coming out next year called Tron Legacy. I've heard rumors about this for a while, but yesterday, finally, I watched the preview. Oh man oh man oh man. Seriously, you must watch this trailer, just for the sheer NEWness of what this film is going to be, visually. Very, very slick. I haven't seen the original TRON for years and years, but the film definitely left its indelible mark upon my young mind. And it is exactly the kind that deserves some heavy modernization.

Gosh golly, everyone...TRON! Ha.

Here's one more film review before I move on to the final, mystery topic of this here exhaustive post.

I recently watched JCVD, which is about, you [may or may not have] guessed it! Jean-Claude Van Damme. I saw a trailer for this film maybe a year ago, and I was immediately intrigued. I'm not a huge fan of this B-list action star, but the film was clearly not typical Van Damme.

What it really is: a post-modern story about the man himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme playing Jean Claude Van Damme. And where do we find Msr. Van Damme? Fighting custody battles in court. Knee deep in legal debt. Struggling to find real work in legitimate films.

And...caught up in an amateurish but brutal hostage situation inside of a post office.

The film is funny, scary, and unexpectedly, profoundly moving. By the end, you cannot help but fall in love with the man--in all of his dignity, shame, strength and weakness--as a real person. There is a monologue somewhere about halfway through the film in which our 'hero' describes, in a surprisingly personal way, his life. The man, not the actor, is moved to tears by what he has to say. They are tears of regret, of confusion, of lonliness, and, finally, tears of an overwhelming sense of love and comradery with people and the person who comprises them.

I loved it. I was pretty sure I'd enjoy the film, but I loved it.

**As an aside, I'm not going to talk much about ratings. Some of the films I have reviewed and will review are rated R, and I've spend some time in the past talking about the reasons for such ratings, or the reasons I chose to see the film. From now on, I'll provide links to descriptions, reviews, or trailers for films, and the rating will be apparent, but I won't promise to discuss in any detail the motivation behind those ratings. I believe very strongly that the choice of which movies we should and should not watch is personal and very important. Just because I have chosen to watch a particular film does not mean that I believe everyone should watch it. And there are certainly plenty of films close and respected friends choose to see that I choose to avoid. My only constant and unchanging advice is that you research the films about which you feel at all unsure. If the R rating is a problem for you, that should be your first consideration, and I won't put forth a lot of effort to justify any particular movie. K, end of aside.**

The last item on today's overly long dispatch is mostly a link. The post to which I just linked is an abstract and commentary on an article entitled: Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man.

This article is not a joke. It was published by the New York Times under "Science." For those of you who actively fear a cyborg revolution, well...here's some more fuel.

It's not that I don't think we already have enough to worry about. Obama proves every day that he is more willing and able than most other forces to ruin our lives, and there exist entire nations dominated by people who are passionately convinced that the eradication of America and those who live therein would be a great blessing to the world. Also, there's disease, famine, poverty, hopelessly corrupt governments, and astonishing, endless human stupidity and ignorancce.

In short, we're just about primed to be taken over by computers.

Really, though, read the article and the post. They're very interesting. (All humans must be warned.)

Sixth Month Anticipation

I see most previews before anyone else. All you have to do is watch for them online, but most people aren't nearly as obsessive as I am about it.

When it comes down to it, I'm not sure why I do that. Inevitably, I end up dealing with the pain of anticipation to a much greater degree than most other people. It could easily be considered a form of self-abuse.

Such is life. I'm not going to change any time soon. Instead, I'll try to drag you down with me.

Denzel Washington is wonderful. We all know this. I've either liked or loved pretty much every film in which he's been at all involved.

So how could I not go a little bit nuts when I find out that he's going to be a post-apocolyptic action hero in his next film? In my world, there are few things over which to get more excited. And I hope that your world is at least a little bit like mine.

Here are some facts about the film:

- It is called The Book of Eli.

- It also stars Gary Oldman, who is awesome.

- It was written by Gary Whitta, who apparently has no other writing credits, which is either a very good sign, or a very bad one. It's a good sign if it means that the script was just so good that it didn't matter that he had nothing else in his portfolio. Seriously, his IMDB page has got nothing.

- It's being directed by a pair of brothers--the Hughes--who's only other notable film was From Hell, which received lukewarm ratings.

- You can watch a high-def preview here.

- For those of you too lazy or slow (meaning your Internet connection) to watch it in HD, here's an embedded YouTube trailer:

Reagan on Healthcare

This is a lazy post day. I just wanted to share something I listened to yesterday. It looks like a video, but it isn't. It's just a recording of Ronald Reagan talking about nationalized (socialized) medicine. It's pretty powerful stuff. For some reason, you don't hear politicians talking like this much anymore. Reagan says it strong and says it straight. And he's right. I really recommend listening to the whole thing.

I'll Never Be an Astronaut

Not because I'm unimportant, not a pilot, not athletic, and have no stake in or possibility of entering our or any other space program (though all of those things are true.)

But because we don't go there anymore.

When I was little, space was the great, mysterious beyond. It's where dreams and nightmares both were born. Here's the thing, though--it still is. It's still mysterious and great. It is still, and will always be, the ultimately unconquerable frontier.

Today is the anniversary of the first time we landed on the Moon. It was a big day, though most of us probably didn't recognize the anniversary. I didn't, until a little bit ago.

The fact that so many of us are unaware is proof enough that we have abandoned our extra-terrestrial aspirations. In my estimation, this is one of the primary things that marks a society in decline. We don't have time anymore. We don't have resources. Our goals are more complex and frightening. Nope. We don't have the heart for it. We used to, but we lost it somewhere in the last few decades.

The inspiration for my sad diatribe is an article by Charles Krauthammer called "The Moon We Left Behind." Please read it, and do it in honor of one of our greatest and most noble achievements.

A Day Late, and Still Sexy (The Harry Potter Review)

Not me. I'm only sexy when I'm on time.

I didn't see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Tuesday night at midnight. I would have, but the 17 showings in my favorite theater were all sold out.

So I went Wednesday at midnight.

It was good. Not as good as the fifth, but good. I was entertained throughout, and there was more and better humor from start to finish in this one, which was wholly unexpected. Harry Potter humor is only occasionally funny in my experience, but somehow, in the sixth installment, they hit it almost every time.

The acting was, of course, phenomenal. That's due mainly to the cast. Virtually every major British actor has made an appearance in these movies, and it shows. The collection of talent is immense. And each of the "child" actors are improving remarkably. Even Daniel Radcliffe was marginally less annoying this time around, which is saying a lot. As an aside, I don't believe he's an actor that will go very far beyond this franchise. That's my prediction--we'll see what it's worth in five or ten years.

Here's a fascinating addendum: Draco Malfoy has become, in my sophisticated opinion, a more sympathetic, dynamic character than Harry Potter himself (that, on the other hand, isn 't saying much at all). Tom Felton has given the character the very complexity, depth, and inner turmoil that Harry Potter's character frustratingly lacks. I would never want to work with Radcliffe, but if I was in the position to do so, I would cast Tom Felton in significant roles in the future and expect (and get) great things.

All that said, the film is slow. Not unbearably, or unredeemably, but very definitely slow. I'm certain the film could have been thirty minutes shorter and remained virtually unchanged. But this is what I think happened: Half Blood Prince was beautiful. It's at least possible that the filmmakers couldn't bear to cut more out than they did. In fact, you got that feeling. This shot could have been shorter, but look how pretty it is! We can't let go of it and move on quick enough. So the dialog scenes drag. The moments of contemplation stretch. The problem isn't terribly uncommon, but it is a little frustrating. When you start a movie at midnight, you prefer to get home before 3am. And you should never stop to wonder halfway through when it is eventually going to end.

But let me reiterate this point--I did really enjoy the film. Go see the new Harry Potter flick. It's worth it.

Or, if you've seen it already, share your thoughts. [That was a plug for comments]

He's Come to Save the Day

As a rule, I hate JibJab. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but it seems like the only people who get a kick out of it are those with severely underdeveloped senses of humor.

"Look, it's my face (or my friend's face) doing something I (or my friend) didn't actually do! OMG LOL Random!"

...

But, this is from JibJab--by way of self-promotion--and it's actually very funny. Please keep in mind, creating something this sophisticated is not a service Jib-Jab offers to its typical users.

Activism and Hot Friends

I hope to eventually be largely responsible for devastatingly attractive children.

Daniel and Kristin are two people with whom I played matchmaker some time ago. Their relationship has budded nicely, I think, and they'll both be very uncomfortable that I injected this information into the unpredictably visible medium of the Internet. But so things go. I'm happy about it and decided to say something.

They recently had a bunch of modeling pictures done for free (a photographer-friend wanted some practice), and the results are so hot they're almost a joke. I would link to some examples, but Daniel's busy photoshopping some of his favorites, and hasn't posted any of them online.

So, yeah, anyway. There's that.

AND, I recently discovered a new website called "The People Decide." Check it out. You can either Google it, or click here. The concept of the website is to get people to be more aware of what kinds of things Congress is doing. What bills they're voting on, and how all of the different representatives in each state are voting. The ultimate goal is to eventually establish whether or not the elected officials of the country are actually representing their constituents.

Of course, the only way this site will ever reach its full potential is if an ENORMOUS number of people start to utilize it. There are a good number already, but it's still new, and it looks as though the number of subscribers is still the barest fraction of what it really needs to be. So I heartily, strongly, actively suggest that you visit the site and look around. Sign up. Vote. It's pretty quick, extremely easy, and definitely qualifies as good citizenship.

Most emphatically, I mean that last part. So many of us are at least concerned about the state of the country, the problems we face domestically and internationally, and the bloated and corrupt government. But what can we do? That's always the concluding, despairing question--posed both by the people at the wrong end of my verbose political diatribes, and myself, at the end of the day.

To get informed is an important and necessary start. It's something in place of the typical nothing that we do as modern, lethargic, ignorant, seemingly helpless citizens of this country. But it's not enough. We must be ACTIVE. We've got to vote, obviously, and we've got to be informed enough to do so. But what about the other three hundred and sixty four days out of the year? Do this. Of course there are other ways to get involved, but that website could be one of the simplest, quickest, and most effective ways of becoming politically active.

Clearly, the title of this post vs. it's contents were a little backward, but oh well. If that bothers you a lot, you'll hate me for this--here's something that wasn't even mentioned in the title:

Another plug for my "dumber" blog! You should visit it (Lasers, Bagels, and Other Abstractions), and click on only one of the links. Please trust me, and ONLY CLICK ON ONE OF THE LINKS you find there.

Okgoodbyenow.

After a Break, I Say This

Any and all of you who keep up with this here blog I made (using software that transforms blog-making into a process which would bore a reasonably intelligent toddler) know that I shy away from talking much about my personal life.

But I recently discovered that I'm crazy.

In light of this discovery, I want to share some experiences from the past few days, not because they're important, or exciting...or at all meaningful to anyone who isn't, specifically, me. But because I'm at least a little bit convinced that telling all of my (several) readers about what's going on in Jordan Petersen's life will be fun for me.

Also, I have evidence of me = crazy. Here's the story.

I produced this film called Spit, as most of you know. It's an advanced student short film that is now finished shooting, and is in the process of editing. Anyway, on Wednesday, I, the other producer, and the director went through all of the art for the film to see what should go where, what we wanted to keep, and what should get thrown away.

In a moment of supreme obsessive compulsiveness selflessness, I offered to take a bag full of playing cards (about 20 pounds worth) home and sort them into full decks. I got home a little before 9pm and then got straight to work. Why? Because I was eager. I couldn't wait to get started on this Herculean task of exquisite tedium.

A couple of my friends who I very much love came over to just hang out, goof around, and pretend to do homework while I plowed through about seventy decks of unsorted playing cards.

It was after midnight the first time I paused to check what time it was. That was weird. But it was weirder when it was after two.

And then at about four o'clock in the morning, we all decided to go to Ihop. No, I had not developed multiple personalities disorder by then--my two good friends were still with me. Why? Because they're just cool people. And that's what cool people do.

After a hearty breakfast, I took my devotees home so they could sleep for a several hours before they each had to get up for work in the morning. Then I went home and finished the task to which I had so insanely committed myself. It was after 7am when I finally finished.

Then I saw to the laundry I had started the previous evening, studied my scriptures, made my lunch, and arrived for work on the sixth floor of the BYU library at about 8:30am.

This was yesterday. My faculties were comparable to someone who had been drinking heavily, so I don't remember much about the day. I do know I didn't sleep until 7pm, when I was with one friend waiting for another friend to show up at my apartment. In the middle of a conversation of which I remember nothing, I blacked out for about fifteen minutes and then woke up when friend dos showed up.

Here's what I learned. We've all been duped into sleeping for EIGHT WHOLE HOURS every day! You only need like 15 minutes every thirty or so hours to survive feel GREAT!

Don't worry, I did eventually get to bed around 12:30 and slept for over ten hours. Now it's today and all's back to normal. Well, except for my concern over the mentality that would allow me to work for over seven hours without pausing to sort out over seventy decks of face cards.