Reasonably Random Rants

Being who you aren’t

tgwizard — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:17:03 +0000

Yes! Violent Acres is back with a new post, and this one has the same feel as her best writings before her latest hiatus. No one is as seemingly open and self-distanced as she can be (although we can’t know how she really is, now, can we?)

You don’t have to agree with everything or anything she says, but it is always interesting.

I want to end this post with one of the most bullshit sayings there is: “We all can be only who we are, no more, no less”. (Someone please explain the virtue of this reasoning to me).

Violent Acres

tgwizard — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:39:38 +0000

One of the most refreshing blogs out there is Violent Acres. It’s written by the anonymous V, with the tagline: “I’m just like you, only I’m interesting and my life isn’t devoid of meaning”. Some of her posts are about her childhood and growing up, some other are about random* topics she opines upon. Some are just about her cleverly insulting others.

They are all great.

Her blog has been dormant for some time, but she might be coming back. Lets hope she does.

*Random, as in random with a red thread running through them.

In Treatment

tgwizard — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:06:14 +0000

I’ve recently finished watching the first season of the HBO drama In Treatment – and it is brilliant. Probably the next best thing I’ve ever seen (Buffy still tops my list). Each episode is a session between the therapist Paul (Gabriel Byrne) and a patient. And that’s all it is. There are no flashy effects or adrenaline-pumping action sequences. There’s just the dialog between a few people who give you glimpses into their respective worlds. The flawless acting of all the actors leaves you filled with awe.

There doesn’t seem to be any overt point or meaning or “moral” driving the plot/dialogue. Just pure emotion. The turns each character makes over the season and in each episode is astounding.

Gabriel Byrne is also in the awesome film The Usual Suspects.

(I apologize for the one-sided/unnuanced review – but I actually have nothing bad to say about the series.)

So, I’m off to watch the second season, and I’m having trouble believing it can live up to the first.

(Disclaimer: I’ve watched the last 15 episodes in a row, ending at 0400 last night, so I might still be too emotionally attached to have a real opinion yet, but whatever.)

Top Movies of the 00′s

tgwizard — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:42:14 +0000

IMDB has a list of the top movies of the past decade. Unfortunately, and without surprise, The Dark Night is number one. It’s a good movie, if somewhat long and with a boring plot. And Heath Ledger is brilliant. But an 8.9? And number nine of the top 250 of all time?

Anyway, perhaps there are some good movies on there that you haven’t seen yet. View them, and then spend your money appropriately.

The Time Traveler’s Wife – First Post

tgwizard — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:06:59 +0000

This will be a boring post, but I don’t expect anyone to read it anyway, so that’s fine.

I saw the movie The Time Traveler’s Wife with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams yesterday, and I really liked it. It is no masterpiece, but it leaves you with a warm and cozy feeling. The acting of both Bana and McAdams was satisfying, and both characters were interesting and made the movie what it is. (A relief after McAdams boring character in Sherlock Holmes – which seemed to only take part for the male/female actor ratio to even out somewhat). If you liked Bana and haven’t seen Funny People yet, do it. And I’d recommend The Lucky Ones for more of McAdams.

When the end credits rolled, I couldn’t help but to notice that Brad Pitt was credited as an Executive Producer. Apparently he bought the rights to make a movie of the book even before it was published, and his company Plan B Entertainment produced it. Based on the movies the company has produced I’d say it is rather successful. (I thought this was kinda interesting…). I’ve missed only one of the movies they’ve made, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, which I plan to see sometime soon.

Anyway – first post ever. I’m not sure what this blog will be about, or whether I’ll even continue writing. But at least I can boast of being one of the few people on earth with their very own personal blog.