apropos of anything

For most of the summer, we heard non-stop whinging about the box-office slump, hand-wringing over the decreased sales, rocket-scientist-type extrapolating about why, exactly, the American consumer wasn’t flocking to the theaters as usual. It was probably because, with a few exceptions, the summer crop of movies sucked royally; additionally, movie tickets have gotten ridiculously expensive, so people are a little more selective of what they’ll go see.

Oscar season is upon us now, which means the movies should theoretically be better. I’ve got a list of the ones I want to see… but then, I usually have a list and end up seeing only one or two movies on it, and one or two movies not on it, as that’s how circumstances generally turn out. (For example, I didn’t want to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because the actor playing Mad-Eye Moody wasn’t nearly so skinny as I expected a paranoid Auror to be, but I got talked into it anyway.)

Without further ado, though, here’s my tentative list through December:

Joaquin Pheonix is Johnny Cash

Walk the Line I’ve been watching the growing buzz about this movie for a while now. By all accounts, it should be an amazing film with solid performances all around, especially by Reese Witherspoon as June Cash. Witherspoon was excellent in Election, so I’m not as surprised as some that she’d be good in a non-romantic comedy role. Despite the abundant praise, I had a hard time finding a screenshot with her in it; obviously, I didn’t use one. Walk the Line looks like it’s telling a wonderful story, and telling it well, and I am all about good storytelling.

	This one’s Edward R. Murrow’s story

Good Night and Good Luck It’s a journalism movie. It’s about the McCarthy era. Of course I’m going to see this one. I’ve always been fascinated by that period of history, especially how the advent of television news reshaped public opinion and influenced the turn of events. Doesn’t hurt that the movies made about this era generally turn out well, either. The black-and-white footage only adds to its appeal. I am curious to see whether they will find a way to include the very famous quote from the trials (“Have you no decency, sir?”). Reading the press coverage for this movie puts me in mind of Katharine Graham’s absorbing memoir, Personal History (which, if you haven’t read, you should), which in turn always makes me wonder, if Watergate were to happen now, would we be able to uncover it?

Paradise Now This foreign film, directed by an Arab man, attempts to show how normal, everday, nonfanatical people become suicide bombers. The reviews have been very positive, saying the movie takes an objective look and doesn’t force its opinions upon the viewers. I think it’s a daring thing to do, creating a movie about suicide bombers, and I want to see what the film has to say. The only problem is going to be finding a theater in Atlanta that’s showing it.

Zhang’s geisha performs for her audience

Memoirs of a Geisha I’ll say straight-up that I didn’t like the book by Arthur Golden. Or, rather, I didn’t like the ending of the book by Arthur Golden. It offended my sense of right and wrong, of what should be due people who go out of their way to support you. (The writing, however, was beautiful.) When I first heard of the movie adaptation, I figured I’d pass, but now that I’ve seen the commercials… I’m a sucker for period pieces and costume dramas, of which this is both. And Ziyi Zhang was so good in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I don’t expect to be too caught up in the whole she’s-not-actually-Japanese thing for very long. I’ve read articles that say the movie is too soft on Japan in the war scenes; it’s been so long since I read the book that I can’t say how it would compare, but I can understand the controversy the issue is causing in Asia.

Syriana This is the second George Clooney movie on my list (Good Night, and Good Luck being the first), but I didn’t pick it for the Clooney factor. Rather, I loved Traffic, and I want to see the same team take on the oil issues that are surrounding us today. I wonder whether it will be able to deliver its message as cleanly as Traffic did. I also wonder what that message is.

	Can Keira Knightley really do justice to my darling Lizzie Bennet?

Pride and Prejudice I usually have a thing about the film versions of books I love: I won’t go anywhere near them. I know what all the characters and all the sets look like. I don’t need to see somebody else’s interpretation of it all. I certainly don’t need to see some actress who hasn’t read the original Austen try and be Elizabeth Bennett, as I suspect Aishwarya Rai did with her Lalita in Bride and Prejudice last year. I’ve heard great things about the six-hour BBC version of this book. Amena even gave me a copy of it earlier this summer, but I’ve yet to watch it, partly because it’s a six-hour movie, and partly because I’m terrified of ruining this story for myself. I love it so very much. And yet, there’s a part of me that kind of wants to see both the new cinematic release and the original BBC version, just to see what they’re like. There’s another part of me that’s already figuring out which show date and time would be best for the theatrical version coming to town this winter. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the movie (except for the fog scene, which Shireen promises is fabulous…. and I want to counter, “But there’s no fog scene in the book!”), and I tend to think Keira Knightley is a little overrated. At the very least, she wasn’t my favorite Bend it Like Beckham actress!

I’m leaving for India soon, insha’Allah, and the few remaining days I have are quickly becoming crammed with work issues and last-minute shopping, so I’m not sure if I’ll have a chance to see even one of these movies before I leave. Perhaps I’ll blitz them all in after I come back, but if not… there’s always DVD.

CNN has a video on the site today where Laura Bush gives a tour of the White House Christmas decorations to Dana Bash, who records the whole thing for our viewing pleasure. And in the related pane, there is a link to another video, entitled “Christmas tree returns to Capitol”, although the description makes a point of saying that the Christmas tree has been renamed a “holiday tree.”

Laura Bush speaks to Dana Bash about the Christmas decorations at the White House

Of course the Bushes are Christian and as such should have Christmas decorations and other trimmings all over the White House. But I have to wonder, if by some chance a non-Christian ever became President (I know it’s unlikely unless somehow we duped the entire conservative Right into thinking election day was actually the first Wednesday in November and then cut off all their media access for the week), would there still be Christmas decorations in the White House? How would the country react to, say, menorahs in the White House windows? Diwali lights? A giant “Eid Mubarak” sign? No holiday decorations at all?

Last year I had a conversation about whether it was acceptable to have a decorations, or a nativity scene, in a public, government-owned place such as the post office. The number of people who felt it was entirely appropriate was staggering, not to mention completely unfathomable to me. The post office, so long as it is supported by my tax dollars, should not be placing religious motifs of any kind, regardless of whether said motifs are donated or purchased. And to a certain point you could conceivably extend that argument to the White House as well since it’s technically government-own public property.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s a petty issue to be worked up about, particularly since the argument that works one way also works the other, and if I were in the White House, I’d want to be decorating for my (non-Christian) holidays. The local post office, however, needs to stay away from the nativity scenes and limit itself to tinsel and holly. I’ll even give them a tree since that’s not a religious icon, but Joseph and Mary and the three wise men bent over the baby Jesus? Not in my public spaces, thanks.

I recently lambasted somebody for describing all the charactertics of, but not actually admitting to being, a music snob. Actually, what I really reamed him for was the “lampooning” of the “clumsy clods” who don’t know the difference between Björk and Bjorn Borg. And I suppose if you want to get truly technical about it, I didn’t lambast or ream so much as say, dude, that’s so not cool in words that are more up my alley.

I am not so much a fan of intellectual snobs who look down upon anyone who doesn’t share their particular spectrum of snobbery. Drives me absolutely crazy, and I say that as someone who dabbles in snobbery — within reason — herself. I’d like to think, though, that I’ve never mocked anyone for liking something I didn’t because, dude, that’s so not cool. I mean, I may happen to think Jessica Simpson doesn’t produce music so much as shrill hackneyed screeching, but if you like her artistic efforts, more power to you so long as you don’t make me listen along.

	In my book, sugar and sugar does not a cake make.

I think I’m a bit of a food snob, but not entirely because I still eat tater tots and I like my meat cooked all the way through. But serve me cake from Publix (my ongoing appreciation for all other things Publix notwithstanding), and I’ll politely pick around it because y’all, I’d rather eat broccoli for dessert.

And I’m a bit of a book snob since I’ll read almost anything, but that won’t stop me from critiquing the writing style. I do it partly because I wonder if I could write as well as somebody who’s been published, and partly because I like writers who have perfected the art of turning phrases and who slip just the right metaphor into just the right place so effortlessly you notice only the picture being painted, not the transition. The writing doesn’t matter if the story is not good; this much is true. But for me, excellent writing enriches a mediocre plot any day, even if only to the extent that I pick up a little more of what it means to write well.

I think everyone has something they’re somewhat snobbish about, whether it be music or TV or comics or hairstyles. It’s nice to have a niche. But what you like is what you like, and what I like is what I like, and if we were all the same, it would be a very dull world indeed… meaning that if I don’t fit into somebody’s preconceived idea of taste because I like Matt Nathanson’s Beneath These Fireworks, I’m perfectly happy being tasteless.

I’ve just been informed, by way of Pop Culture Junk Mail, that Coca-Cola is placing my favorite drink, Vanilla Coke, on (at least temporary) hiatus in favor of Black Cherry Vanilla Coke.

Mmm, vanilla Coke

This is such sad news. It’s not that I have anything in particular against cherry Coke, except that it’s not very good, but I love me some vanilla Coke. I’m not going to “stock up” because, well, I’m just not. I don’t even drink all that much Coke these days anyway. I’m just going to miss knowing that vanilla Coke was available if ever I wanted it. Maybe the sales for black cherry vanilla Coke will bomb (because doesn’t that just sound awful?), and they’ll bring it back someday. Or maybe they’ll just bring it back.

And before certain NASCAR-obsessed people suggest it, no, I’m not going to switch to vanilla Pepsi because that stuff tastes like desi medicine. Also, Pepsi rots your insides.

I fought long and hard against this show. I swore I would never forgive it for getting both the plum time slot and all the overexposure denied the deliciously snarky Eyes even though I knew ABC, and not Grey’s Anatomy, was responsible for the stingy, short-sighted, prohibitive scheduling decisions. It was easier not to watch the show and stick it to ABC in my own tiny, completely unnoticeable way.

Then over the summer, I watched part of Grey’s Anatomy because I turned on the TV to catch the last fifteen minutes of Desperate Housewives and ended up staying for about forty-five minutes instead. The next week, it was a little more, and then a little more, until finally I was grudgingly watching the entire episode and even more grudgingly finding myself caring about the characters and falling completely in love with Dr. Bailey.

This was not a show I wanted to like, but I did. And tonight, when Meredith’s opening voice over was about how stupid Romeo and Juliet is and how if Juliet was dumb enough to do all the things Juliet does, she totally deserves what she gets? I was SOLD. One hundred percent, absolutely, totally into this show now, so much that I will even watch Meredith whine about how much her life sucks and pretend I don’t want to channel my inner valley girl and gag myself with a spoon.