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Review: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

This movie is as perfect a casting job as I have ever seen. Jesse James could have been played by no one but Brad Pitt. Jesse James was a legend. His name was plastered all across the west on everything from story books to wanted posters and the public ate up every last bit of it. His name alone demanded respect. He was bigger than life.

Brad Pitt is as close to a legend as we have today. His name is plastered all over the newsstands and tabloids, yet he mostly keeps to himself. When he steps onto a screen, he instantly brings with him the respect he’s earned from every film he’s done. Because of this, the reverence Casey Affleck’s Robert Ford shows Pitt’s Jesse James is instantly believable and this movie becomes much more than just a biopic.

The Assassination of Jesse James is about celebrity worship and the fall from grace that can happen to any obsessed fan, and when viewed in this vein, is almost haunting. It’s about the humanization of one major celebrity and the discovery of the many demons that come with celebrity status. It’s about the assassination of an American icon by his biggest personal demon.

– 237 arbitrary stars

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This Week in Movies – 3/31/08

Monday, March 31, 2008

In Theaters:

  • Leatherheads – George Clooney and Jim from The Office struggle to save a 1925 football team and get the country’s attention. Looks like some fast-talking football fun.
  • Nim’s Island – You know, for kids!
  • The Ruins – Some pretty, rich, young people visit some Ruins. Turns out the place is cursed. Horror ensues. I, for one, am chilled to the bone.
  • Shine a Light – Documentary on the Rolling Stones’ concerts in New York 2006. Directed by Martin Scorcese. Could be interesting, but I doubt it will top the box office. Just a hunch.

On Video:

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U-Fail

Saturday, March 29, 2008

U-Fail

Apparently I just became internet famous. This is a little weird. My friend, Nate was stumbling and came across the picture above on this website. After a little Googling, I found it again here. The weird thing is that the only place I have this picture posted is on Facebook.

Someone must have ripped it from there, added a little text, and submitted it to the fail blog. I wonder who it was. I figured I’d repost it here so that I get a little credit for the picture. Here’s what happened:

So there we were, driving through the middle of nowhere, Wyoming, when out of nowhere we got ambushed by a rogue wind. The back end started to slide right, I calmly said, “Here we go,” and turned the wheel to correct, it slid back left, and I suddenly remembered the 18-wheeler we passed not too long ago that was sure to be barreling toward us. I saw the edge of the road and decided that’s where I wanted to be. Off we slid, I pumped the brake once, the back end swung right, off the road, and behind us, and next thing I knew, we were perched 5 feet in the air.

We were going maybe 25 mph, more likely less when it happened, no tickets were issued, and there was absolutely no damage whatsoever to the car. We followed the tow truck towing the trailer to the nearest Uhaul, stayed the night, and swapped out the trailer the next day. It was relatively painless since I bought the insurance on the trailer, although I did have to completely repack it. The only major damage done was to a Wal-Mart particle board entertainment center, but the entire contents was covered by the insurance.

It took 2 tow trucks to un-perch us from the trailer. Luckily, I had my video camera with me.

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It was crazy, after getting un-stuck, we sat on the freeway for like 5 hours waiting for them to clear all the toppled semis and wrecked cars off the freeway. Apparently they closed the freeway right after we passed the last closing point. Just too much wind on a snowy day. Hooray for failing!

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Favorite Video Friday – Dancing in the Street

Friday, March 28, 2008

This week: Dancing in the street

Kylie Minogue – Come Into My World

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Classic Michel Gondry. I wish I knew how to do half of the things he does in his music videos and movies.

Björk – It’s Oh So Quiet

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Another classic, this one from Spike Jonze. My favorite Björk song and one of my favorite Spike Jonze videos. I’ve never seen a song interpreted so perfectly.

RJD2 – Work It Out

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The guy in the video is Bill Shannon, who was born with a degenerative hip condition that prevents him from being able to support his own weight. I’ll take any excuse I can to post an Rjd2 track. He’s one of the most amazing DJs around today.

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Review: Junebug

Thursday, March 27, 2008

An art dealer marries a man from backwoods North Carolina. They make a trip there to buy some art and stay with his parents. Throw in some random shots of trees and an empty country home and that’s pretty much it. Nothing happens in this movie. It’s just a slice out of the life of a rich, pretty British woman who is exposed to a backwoods American lifestyle. Like the main character, this movie tries way too hard to be artsy. Not even Amy Adams, who is the only lovable and/or interesting thing in this movie, could keep me from banging my head against the wall with boredom. Adams deserved every bit of her Oscar nomination, but she was like a daisy planted in a concrete slab.

– 5.2 arbitrary stars, but only for Amy Adams

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