Friday, June 16, 2006
Friday is here and I am so fucking happy that it is. Been in several fights this week (non-physical), had my last nerves ragged to the very end, managed to meet two deadlines earlier than expected at work, and have had a hell of a time sleeping. So, yeah, it has been a really fun week. Maybe this weekend will see a little bit of a turn-around for me. Hopefully.
Here are today’s movie releases. We have the sequel to America’s favorite sarcastic cat, another fast car racing movie, Keanu Reeves attempting to get out of his normal typecast persona, and a wrestling-style movie done in the manner of Napoleon Dynamite.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (PG-13); Wide release
Although street racing provides an escape from an unhappy home and the superficial world around him, for outsider Sean Boswell, his reckless involvement in the sport has made him very unpopular with the local authorities. After one crash too many--and to avoid jail time--Sean is sent to live with his gruff, estranged father, a career military man stationed in Tokyo. Now officially a gaijin (outsider), Sean feels even more shut out in a land of foreign customers and codes of honor. But after a fellow American buddy, Twinkie, introduces him to the underground world of drift racing--an exhilarating balance of speeding and gliding through a heart-stopping course of hairpin turns and switchbacks--he's hooked again, and back in trouble. Simple drag racing is replaced by a new, rubber-burning automotive art form--just bad enough to fit Sean's rebel style. On his first time out drifting, Sean unknowingly takes on D.K., the Drift King, a local champ with ties to the Japanese crime syndicate Yakuza. Sean's loss comes with a high price tag when he's forced to work off the debt under the thumb of another ex-pat named Han. Han soon welcomes Sean into his family of misfits and introduces him to the real principles of drifting. Whether for pink slips, wads of cash or bragging rights, the stakes remain high for Sean and his competition--as they learn to elevate the race itself to an art form. They will take cutting-edge, modified racers to the densely populated streets of Tokyo's urban landscape at neck-snapping speeds then smoothly glide through tight hairpin turns punctuated by screeches and the acrid smell of smoking rubber. But when Sean falls for D.K.'s girlfriend, Neela, an explosive series of events is set into motion, climaxing with an ultimate high-stakes face off against his nemesis. Punishment for the loser? Banishment from Tokyo forever by Yakuza crime boss--and D.K.'s uncle--Kamata--if they survive the race at all. Honor will be challenged and racing skills will be pushed to the extreme with only one winner standing as champion.
Starring: Lucas Black, Lil' Bow Wow, Brian Tee, Sung Kang, Jason Tobin
Garfield's A Tale of Two Kitties (PG); Wide release
Garfield, the world's favorite cat, has begun his very own British Invasion, wreaking havoc on the entire Kingdom. He's traveled across the pond (with canine sidekick Odie) to surprise his master, Jon Arbuckle, who is in London to propose to his girlfriend, veterinarian Liz Wilson. Garfield came...he saw…he conquered: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Scotland Yard and his new favorite dish: minced pie (okay, it's not lasagna, but you can't have everything). As befitting as adventure worthy of a feline phenomenon, Garfield has switched places with Prince, a royal cat who has just inherited a castle. Now the castle is Garfield's--and who's more deserving? In the grand estate Garfield now calls home, he's receiving the royal treatment, including a butler and an international array of four-legged servants and followers. It's a life fit for a king--even though Garfield is only a prince; in fact, he's the real Prince and the Paw-purr. Uneasy is the head, however, that wears the crown. Lord Dargis, who is next in line to inherit the estate, wants Prince/Garfield out of the picture. And Garfield finds his bigger, better, more purr-fect world turned upside down in this tale of two kitties.
Starring: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Billy Connolly, Lucy Davis, Bill Murray
The Lake House (PG); Wide release
Feeling that it's time for a change in her life, Dr. Kate Forster leaves the suburban Illinois locale where she completed her residency and takes a job at a busy Chicago hospital. One thing she is reluctant to leave behind is the uniquely beautiful house she's been renting--a spacious and artfully designed refuge with large windows that overlook a placid lake. It's a place in which she felt her true self. It is a winter morning in 2006. On her way to the city, Kate leaves a note in the mailbox for house's next tenant, asking him to forward her mail and noting that the inexplicable painted paw prints he might notice by the front door were there when she moved in. But when the next tenant arrives, he sees a much different picture. Alex Wyler, a talented but frustrated architect working at a nearby construction site, finds the lake house badly neglected: dusty, dirty and overgrown with weeds. And no sign of paw prints anywhere. The house has special meaning for Alex. In a happier time it was built by his estranged father, a renowned architect who allowed his professional acclaim to grow at the expense of his family life. Alex feels a sense of peace here now and commits to restoring the property to its original beauty. He disregards Kate's note until, days later, while painting the weather-beaten jetty he sees a stray dog run across the fresh paint and then towards the entrance of the house, leaving paw prints exactly where she said they'd be. Baffled, Alex writes back, saying that the house had no occupant before him and wondering how she could have known about the dog; while Kate, who just left it a week ago, imagines he is playing some kind of joke on her and fires back a reply. As Kate and Alex continue to correspond through the lake house's mailbox they confirm that they are, incredibly, impossibly, living two years apart, and each at a time in their lives when they are struggling with past disappointments and trying to make a new start. Sharing this unusual bond, they reveal more of themselves to one another with each passing week--their secrets, their doubts and dreams, until they find themselves falling in love. Determined to bridge the distance between them at last and unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary connection, they tempt fate by arranging to meet. But, by trying to join their two separate worlds, they could risk losing each other forever.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer, Lynn Collins, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Nacho Libre (PG); Wide release
Nacho is a man without skills. After growing up in a Mexican monastery, he is now a grown man and the monastery's cook, but doesn't seem to fit in. Nacho cares deeply for the orphans he feeds, but his food is terrible--mostly, if you ask him, a result of his terrible ingredients. He realizes he must hatch a plan to make money to buy better food for the young orphans, who have nothing (and if in doing so Nacho can impress the lovely Sister Encarnacion, that would be a big plus). When Nacho is struck by the idea to earn money as a Lucha Libre wrestler, he finds that he has a natural, raw talent for wrestling. As he teams with his rail-thin, unconventional partner, Esqueleto (the Skeleton), Nacho feels for the first time in his life that he has something to fight for and a place where he belongs. As Lucha is strictly forbidden by the church elders at the monastery, Nacho is forced to lead a double life. Disguised by a sky blue mask, Nacho conceals his true identity as he takes on Mexico's most famous wrestlers and takes on a hilarious quest to make life a little sweeter at the orphanage.
Starring: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Hector Jimenez, Richard Montoya, Peter Stormare
Loverboy (R); Limited release
Brilliant, beautiful and financially secure, Emily Stoll never wanted a husband--nor a house with a white picket fence. She knew she needed just one thing to make her truly happy: a child with whom she could share life's wonders. When an anonymous sexual encounter results in the birth of her son, Paul, she is astonished to find that he is even more precious to her than she had imagined. Creative and iconoclastic, Emily has no interest in polite social interaction. Her single overriding passion is to help her precocious child, her Loverboy, reach his fullest potential and to protect him from what she sees as the stifling conformity purveyed by mediocre teachers and ordinary playmates. But, when Paul reaches school age and his natural curiosity begins to draw him to the outside world, Emily knows she has to act quickly to hold on to the love of her life.
Starring: Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Oliver Platt, Marisa Tomei
The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green (R); Limited release
Ethan Green is an adorable 26 year-old professional 'assistant' looking for love in all the wrong places.
Starring: Scott Atkinson, Meredith Baxter, Mariah Bess, Boti Bliss, Joel Brooks
Words from the Dalai Lama
The universe that we inhabit and our shared perception of it are the results of a common karma. Likewise, the places that we will experience in future rebirths will be the outcome of the karma that we share with the other beings living out there. The actions of each of us, human or nonhuman, have contributed to the world in which we live. We all have a common responsibility for our world and are connected with everything in it.
This new concept out to be elaborated alongside the religions, in such a way that all people of good will could adhere to it. We out to promote this concept with the help of scientists. It could lead us to what we are looking for.
If the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue.
On life's journey Faith is nourishment, Virtuous deeds are a shelter, Wisdom is the light by day and Right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him; If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.
~ Buddha
Song this morning: Pink: 18 Wheeler
Special Note: Pink will be coming to the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach July 21st. I am so gonna try to go! ¶ 6/16/2006 04:09:00 AM
Here are today’s movie releases. We have the sequel to America’s favorite sarcastic cat, another fast car racing movie, Keanu Reeves attempting to get out of his normal typecast persona, and a wrestling-style movie done in the manner of Napoleon Dynamite.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (PG-13); Wide release
Although street racing provides an escape from an unhappy home and the superficial world around him, for outsider Sean Boswell, his reckless involvement in the sport has made him very unpopular with the local authorities. After one crash too many--and to avoid jail time--Sean is sent to live with his gruff, estranged father, a career military man stationed in Tokyo. Now officially a gaijin (outsider), Sean feels even more shut out in a land of foreign customers and codes of honor. But after a fellow American buddy, Twinkie, introduces him to the underground world of drift racing--an exhilarating balance of speeding and gliding through a heart-stopping course of hairpin turns and switchbacks--he's hooked again, and back in trouble. Simple drag racing is replaced by a new, rubber-burning automotive art form--just bad enough to fit Sean's rebel style. On his first time out drifting, Sean unknowingly takes on D.K., the Drift King, a local champ with ties to the Japanese crime syndicate Yakuza. Sean's loss comes with a high price tag when he's forced to work off the debt under the thumb of another ex-pat named Han. Han soon welcomes Sean into his family of misfits and introduces him to the real principles of drifting. Whether for pink slips, wads of cash or bragging rights, the stakes remain high for Sean and his competition--as they learn to elevate the race itself to an art form. They will take cutting-edge, modified racers to the densely populated streets of Tokyo's urban landscape at neck-snapping speeds then smoothly glide through tight hairpin turns punctuated by screeches and the acrid smell of smoking rubber. But when Sean falls for D.K.'s girlfriend, Neela, an explosive series of events is set into motion, climaxing with an ultimate high-stakes face off against his nemesis. Punishment for the loser? Banishment from Tokyo forever by Yakuza crime boss--and D.K.'s uncle--Kamata--if they survive the race at all. Honor will be challenged and racing skills will be pushed to the extreme with only one winner standing as champion.
Starring: Lucas Black, Lil' Bow Wow, Brian Tee, Sung Kang, Jason Tobin
Garfield's A Tale of Two Kitties (PG); Wide release
Garfield, the world's favorite cat, has begun his very own British Invasion, wreaking havoc on the entire Kingdom. He's traveled across the pond (with canine sidekick Odie) to surprise his master, Jon Arbuckle, who is in London to propose to his girlfriend, veterinarian Liz Wilson. Garfield came...he saw…he conquered: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Scotland Yard and his new favorite dish: minced pie (okay, it's not lasagna, but you can't have everything). As befitting as adventure worthy of a feline phenomenon, Garfield has switched places with Prince, a royal cat who has just inherited a castle. Now the castle is Garfield's--and who's more deserving? In the grand estate Garfield now calls home, he's receiving the royal treatment, including a butler and an international array of four-legged servants and followers. It's a life fit for a king--even though Garfield is only a prince; in fact, he's the real Prince and the Paw-purr. Uneasy is the head, however, that wears the crown. Lord Dargis, who is next in line to inherit the estate, wants Prince/Garfield out of the picture. And Garfield finds his bigger, better, more purr-fect world turned upside down in this tale of two kitties.
Starring: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Billy Connolly, Lucy Davis, Bill Murray
The Lake House (PG); Wide release
Feeling that it's time for a change in her life, Dr. Kate Forster leaves the suburban Illinois locale where she completed her residency and takes a job at a busy Chicago hospital. One thing she is reluctant to leave behind is the uniquely beautiful house she's been renting--a spacious and artfully designed refuge with large windows that overlook a placid lake. It's a place in which she felt her true self. It is a winter morning in 2006. On her way to the city, Kate leaves a note in the mailbox for house's next tenant, asking him to forward her mail and noting that the inexplicable painted paw prints he might notice by the front door were there when she moved in. But when the next tenant arrives, he sees a much different picture. Alex Wyler, a talented but frustrated architect working at a nearby construction site, finds the lake house badly neglected: dusty, dirty and overgrown with weeds. And no sign of paw prints anywhere. The house has special meaning for Alex. In a happier time it was built by his estranged father, a renowned architect who allowed his professional acclaim to grow at the expense of his family life. Alex feels a sense of peace here now and commits to restoring the property to its original beauty. He disregards Kate's note until, days later, while painting the weather-beaten jetty he sees a stray dog run across the fresh paint and then towards the entrance of the house, leaving paw prints exactly where she said they'd be. Baffled, Alex writes back, saying that the house had no occupant before him and wondering how she could have known about the dog; while Kate, who just left it a week ago, imagines he is playing some kind of joke on her and fires back a reply. As Kate and Alex continue to correspond through the lake house's mailbox they confirm that they are, incredibly, impossibly, living two years apart, and each at a time in their lives when they are struggling with past disappointments and trying to make a new start. Sharing this unusual bond, they reveal more of themselves to one another with each passing week--their secrets, their doubts and dreams, until they find themselves falling in love. Determined to bridge the distance between them at last and unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary connection, they tempt fate by arranging to meet. But, by trying to join their two separate worlds, they could risk losing each other forever.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer, Lynn Collins, Shohreh Aghdashloo
Nacho Libre (PG); Wide release
Nacho is a man without skills. After growing up in a Mexican monastery, he is now a grown man and the monastery's cook, but doesn't seem to fit in. Nacho cares deeply for the orphans he feeds, but his food is terrible--mostly, if you ask him, a result of his terrible ingredients. He realizes he must hatch a plan to make money to buy better food for the young orphans, who have nothing (and if in doing so Nacho can impress the lovely Sister Encarnacion, that would be a big plus). When Nacho is struck by the idea to earn money as a Lucha Libre wrestler, he finds that he has a natural, raw talent for wrestling. As he teams with his rail-thin, unconventional partner, Esqueleto (the Skeleton), Nacho feels for the first time in his life that he has something to fight for and a place where he belongs. As Lucha is strictly forbidden by the church elders at the monastery, Nacho is forced to lead a double life. Disguised by a sky blue mask, Nacho conceals his true identity as he takes on Mexico's most famous wrestlers and takes on a hilarious quest to make life a little sweeter at the orphanage.
Starring: Jack Black, Ana de la Reguera, Hector Jimenez, Richard Montoya, Peter Stormare
Loverboy (R); Limited release
Brilliant, beautiful and financially secure, Emily Stoll never wanted a husband--nor a house with a white picket fence. She knew she needed just one thing to make her truly happy: a child with whom she could share life's wonders. When an anonymous sexual encounter results in the birth of her son, Paul, she is astonished to find that he is even more precious to her than she had imagined. Creative and iconoclastic, Emily has no interest in polite social interaction. Her single overriding passion is to help her precocious child, her Loverboy, reach his fullest potential and to protect him from what she sees as the stifling conformity purveyed by mediocre teachers and ordinary playmates. But, when Paul reaches school age and his natural curiosity begins to draw him to the outside world, Emily knows she has to act quickly to hold on to the love of her life.
Starring: Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Matt Dillon, Oliver Platt, Marisa Tomei
The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green (R); Limited release
Ethan Green is an adorable 26 year-old professional 'assistant' looking for love in all the wrong places.
Starring: Scott Atkinson, Meredith Baxter, Mariah Bess, Boti Bliss, Joel Brooks
Words from the Dalai Lama
The universe that we inhabit and our shared perception of it are the results of a common karma. Likewise, the places that we will experience in future rebirths will be the outcome of the karma that we share with the other beings living out there. The actions of each of us, human or nonhuman, have contributed to the world in which we live. We all have a common responsibility for our world and are connected with everything in it.
This new concept out to be elaborated alongside the religions, in such a way that all people of good will could adhere to it. We out to promote this concept with the help of scientists. It could lead us to what we are looking for.
If the love within your mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have, only suffering and confusion will ensue.
On life's journey Faith is nourishment, Virtuous deeds are a shelter, Wisdom is the light by day and Right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him; If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.
~ Buddha
Song this morning: Pink: 18 Wheeler
Special Note: Pink will be coming to the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach July 21st. I am so gonna try to go! ¶ 6/16/2006 04:09:00 AM
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