Equilibrium

A few months ago, I watched a movie called Equilibrium with Grant.

"In a futuristic world (after WWIII), a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston is a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules (the underground resisters are "Sense Offenders"). When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it."

That was shamelessly stolen from the imdb.com site and edited. This isn't normally a movie I would pick, but I'm glad he made me watch it with him. It was food for thought.

Of course, the conversations before and after the movie were the telling aspects of our lives. I was all impressed that no one was an emotional basket case and people were getting their work done and there was law and order and no crime and it all worked smoothly. There was peace and harmony. Calm and steady. Organized. -An Earth sign's Utopia/A Fire sign's Worst Fucking Nightmare come true.

Then the Resistance Party was shown. Oh my God, what a bunch of whack jobs. Highs and Lows and erratic behavior and complaining and preaching... they were giving me a headache just watching them try to plan something to execute. Running around and hiding and sneaking here and there. Chaos. I was waiting for a complete meltdown to happen at any God given second. -A Fire sign's casual Friday night/An Earth sign's one way ticket to a spree killing followed closely by a lethal injection.

This is where we determined our different favored views of the entire thing. Grant is of the Resistance party mind and I'm of the Cleric party mind. All of which, the opposing party is - A TOTAL FUCKING ENIGMA TO THE OTHER.

It's just like when I promised to watch the Battlestar Galactica show about the Sagittarians on Caprica or whatever it's called.. where all the Sagittariuses were being houses by the Capricorns. All the Sages, although brilliant and free thinkers, were sick and complaining and causing trouble and revolting and couldn't sit still - and the Caps were taking care of them and healing them and trying to only display objective indifference during it all even though they were getting more annoyed by the second and I'm sure more than willing to slip Adderall into everyone's milk.

Grant told me that the Caps were ancient and boring.
I laughed and agreed.
They were also the elite and rich.
It's a trade off I'm willing to live with.

Then he told me that I only enjoyed the show because all the Sages came across all pain in the ass like. And they did. And he was right. And it still makes me laugh when I think about it.

Every now and then we can be objective and laugh at ourselves and not get defensive and in war mode.

We did both like Equilibrium though - for absolute opposite reasons, I'm sure, but nonetheless, it was worth watching together.

In Equilibrium, the woman in it gets under the Cleric's skin. So much so that it looked too familiar and I had to go look it up. Yep, she's a Capricorn too. I think I hate her... - COULD WE BE MORE COOKIE CUTTER?!

Christ, it's always the same Cap M.O. - Boy sees girl. Girl doesn't even like boy. Boy tries to be indifferent. Girl dismisses this premise and ignores boy. Boy gets frustrated. Girl smiles. Boy prepares to fight. Girl prepares to die. Boy flips out. Girl changes boy's whole world. Boy declares war. Girl dies for her convictions without regret or guilt and she's NOT sorry and she really doesn't care she just steps in to be executed because, whatever, there has to be something better than this - and if I don't do this, I'm going to live forever and just be all mad about it anyway. So, kill me.

Same/same









The fighting scenes were pretty good.
The Cleric training scene kicked ass.
It's worth a watch if you get bored.
and then come back and tell me what you thought of it!

inspired

Since I got out my frustration over the stupid half question in my last post, I was laying in bed trying to sleep (to no avail, obviously) and one thought lead to another in my mind and next thing I know - I was up to another example of calling things exactly how they are, and how that's a GOOD thing.

That may very well be the longest, most convoluted sentence ever written. Read it a few times if it didn't make sense the first time around, because I assure you that it will eventually.

You were forced to do sentence breakdowns with charts and lines in school.

I know you were!
You can do it!
I have faith!

Here's a Cliff Note example of how my mind works:

"Man, I feel so much better after writing that bitch about that stupid, moronic, half full/half empty question on my journal. I've been meaning to say that to the general public for a long ass time.

I should tell Brian that when he comes over tomorrow too; he'd appreciate my little theory on that. He's all about calling things out for what they really are. I suppose that's why he was a kick ass Cop.

Being a Cop would be a pretty cool job. They have to see things in terms that are very black and white. Their job is to take the law and arrest someone that breaks it and then turn it all over to the D.A., Judge and/or Jury for them to interpret the law as they see fit.

If I could take orders, I would have loved to be a Cop!

Wait a minute, who in the hell am I kidding - I could NEVER be a Cop. I've made that declaration a few dozen times. I know it's true. I'd make it on the streets for about 5.5 hours before I took the law into my own hands and shot some jackass who was doing something so fundamentally wrong that it violated my senses.

I could never do that job. I know my limits. Oh, you want to be a rapist - well, it just so happens that I have a few bullets in this gun - and look at that! One of them has your name on it! Today is your lucky day! Sort of...

"Okay, motherfucker!
Time to die!
Make your peace with God while you can!"

Speaking of which, I should watch that movie, "Black and White" again with Gina Gershon. I love that movie. My favorite part is when she's got the guy in her target and she just SNAPS and she's all like, "Go ahead! You shoot him, I'll shoot you - it'll be FUN!"

Erm... and that's the basics of why I could never do that job, because I would be JUST LIKE HER in that scenario.

Yeah, I could see it now - Internal Affairs would have my number and the number of an Arraignment Judge on speed dial. Then I'd have to figure out how to convince a jury of my peers that the guy actually fell on the bullets six times because he's a klutz.

"How is that MY fault, your Honor?!"

Even I'm not sure I could sell that one. Wow though, if I could - what kind of freakin' win would THAT be. Come to think of it, I bet I might be able to sell that story! If someone can actually get away with a "Twinkies" defense... oh my God, what the hell am I going on about... sheesh... next...

I think one of the best compliments I've ever gotten from Brian is him saying that if we were in the Army together and in War, he would trust me to have his back. That's a huge compliment.

Not that I could ever be in the military either - with my whole lack of, taking orders, thing. It was still a good thing to say.

He's right though, oh my God, if someone took a shot at him I'd go insane and that person would have to pay. I told him that I'm the only one allowed to kill him. NO ONE GETS TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!

I'd give that guy part of my liver if he needed it.

I'm never going to get any sleep this way. I should just get up and get some coffee and write or read or plot. Whatever. Something.

...it goes on and on and on like that.

That's not even scratching the surface, but it should be enough of an example to give you a little insight.

Anyway, in the midst of my silent tirade in my head while laying there, things somehow worked its way around to measuring people with their own measuring sticks.

Not mine.
Theirs.

I'm fairly cool with a large, large number of things. You want to be a polygamist, more power to you. You want to marry your own sex, knock yourself out. You want to tell me flat out that you're a womanizing asshole - okay.

I could, and ironically, have had the following conversation:

Womanizing Dickhead: "I think it would be good to tell you that I'm a bottom of the barrel, womanizing dickhead - all in the name of fair play. Oh, and by the way, I'm 100% against animal cruelty. People that hurt animals should be shot and then subsequently dragged behind a bus doing 45 down a dirt road."

Me: "Okay. Noted. Thanks!"

I'm actually happy for you that you know yourself well enough to understand that about yourself and your sense of honesty made you say that to me. We're cool. I will NOT be surprised when I see you doing your thing. I won't get all moral on you. I won't lecture you. Good for you for doing some soul searching and coming to some kind of conclusion about yourself.

I don't really care.
I've been warned.
Fair enough.

Granted, I won't be dating you. I won't introduce you to any female that I even remotely know and if you look sideways at my sister - I may gouge your eyes out with a fork.

In the vein of keeping even, I feel that that's necessary to say to you so we're both on the same page.

Noted as well?
Good.
We're cool then.

I value direct honesty and I have a huge fear of being misunderstood and there's no point in mincing words.

This in no way precludes us from being friends.
I'm sure you must have some good qualities too.
Even if you don't, you still get credit for being honest with me.

Really, we're cool.

Now, you can try to lay every female with a pulse around me and I'll ignore you and you're totally safe as long as you don't try to involve me. Have at it. I'll even try very hard not to laugh and roll my eyes. It effects us, not at all. Don't worry your pretty little head over it for one second.

If you try to involve me or get me to vouch for you being a good, caring, one-woman man sort - I will totally blow you in in no uncertain terms and then go back to whatever it was that I was doing. So, you know, you probably don't want to involve me.

But we're OKAY!

You be the best bottom of the barrel, scumbag, dickhead womanizer you can be, honey!

You can tell me all about it later when you're done doing what you're doing.
We'll have coffee or something.

This is where the problem comes in...

If I see the same guy outside kicking a dog - that's a BIG NO!

From that point on, you will forever be known as the jackass dog kicker and I don't even want to know your name now. You have violated your own honesty and now you're nothing but a real asshole that I want nothing to do with.

Me: Hey, you - LYING lowlife animal kicker, there's a bus outside waiting for your ass! I hear he's taking the back roads to his next stop! He's got a gun in his glove compartment too. Hurry!"

You broke your OWN rule.
I have no use for you.

No one else put that rule on you, that's something you came up with on your own. If you didn't want to be held to it, you never should have said it to me!

No sympathy.
None.

If you were a dog kicker, you could have just said, "Oh, yeah - and in my spare time, I like to kick animals."

Sure, I would sit there and stare at you to see if you were serious or not. I'll probably suggest a new hobby, like, watching paint dry or sniffing glue - but I'll take you at your word.

I won't be shocked if I see you do it then either. I'll stare again, and possibly throw a rock at you - but I will be forced to say to myself, "well, he DID tell me... I can hardly say I wasn't warned..."

I don't personally know any dog kickers, but my point remains the same...

Say what you mean, mean what you say - and expect that I'll hold you to it.
Otherwise, really, what's the fucking point.

serious movies

The Joy Luck Club - Every mother & daughter should watch this movie

This is a story about four women that came over to the United States after WWII from China. They each have daughters.

The movie flashes back to the lives of these Chinese women and you get a taste of what it was like to be them during this time period in history. The poverty. The hardships.

Each life experience is so different and so distinct.
You also see how delicate the interactions between mothers and daughters are woven.

Every mother and daughter should watch this movie. I can't praise it enough.

I can not find a trailer for this movie, unfortunately. It's a serious movie that's just so well done you can feel it.


Rosewood - Every American should see this movie
http://movies.warnerbros.com/rosewood/main.html

This is a movie that I feel should be shown in every high school across America. It should absolutely be mandatory.

Do you hear me? EVERYONE should be forced to see this movie

This is a movie based on a True Story of the town of Rosewood, Florida. A predominately black town, in 1923, that was burnt to the ground and the people murdered in cold blood.

You'll see prejudice, violence, mob mentality and heroism. By the end of one of the biggest race riots in America, Rosewood was leveled. There was only one house and one store left standing - both owned by a white guy.

This movie makes me cry and it makes me furious. Fuck it, I'll say it...I freely admit that after I watch this movie, I hate white people for a long ass time.

I watch it every single time I notice it on - and I get just as mad every single time.

Remembering Rosewood
The Black Holocaust in America
Black History

It's raw.
It's life.
It's our past.
It wasn't that long ago.
.......and everyone should know it.

You can't even talk to me after this movie.
You just have to sit there and listen to me go off.


Shot Through the Heart - Anyone interested in sociology should watch this movie
Can't find a movie trailer for this one either

It's a fact-based movie about two Yugoslavian men, friends from childhood. Their friendship is tested and torn to shreds over political and religious differences (one is a Muslim and the other a Serb) - when the civil war between Bosnian and Sarajevo breaks out in 1992.

This movie is heart-breaking.

It covers a couple of different aspects and you're forced to consider what you would do if you were put into this position.

Parents should watch this movie.

The end of this movie is agonizing. The visual, which is a real visual, is just horrendous. Again though, it's raw - it's honest - and it's life.


The Last Days - Everyone should see this movie, too.
http://videodetective.com/home.asp?PublishedID=

An interview of five Jewish Hungarian survivors of the Holocaust. They are now U.S. citizens, one being the California Senator Tom Lantos. Hearing his story on the ship coming to America kills me every time.

I am amazed that even though Germany knew they couldn't win the war, they still cared more about rounding up the Jewish people and systematically slaughtering them even down to the last days.

I've seen a lot of Holocaust documentaries. This one is the most personal of all of them. If you don't cry, there's something wrong with you.

funny movies

Without a Paddle - Guy movie
http://www.withoutapaddle.com/

It's a comedy and pretty clean. You're not going to see any nudity. There is some swearing in it, but even that's not bad.

I was trying to figure out if kids could watch it. I suppose they could if they were over 13 or so. It's really more adult humor and I'm not sure they would get it as much if they were younger. I let my kids see it. They were 13 & 15 at the time - so, take that for what it's worth.

It's about four friends and one of them dies. In the dead friend's honor, the remaining three decide to take this exploration/camping trip that they always said they were going to take together, but never did.

I call it a typical guy movie because every male that I've made watch this movie understood the things that happen and how the guys interact with each other - PERFECTLY.

The characters are hilarious together. You've got one little neurotic guy, one irresponsible guy and one guy that's afraid of commitment.

If you watch it with a guy, you'll see the difference between what they think is funny and logical. They're the same things that a woman will turn to said man and go, "WHY IS THAT FUNNY?! Someone is going to put an eye out! He's an IDIOT."

The scene I found absolutely hilarious was the cave scene. Women will understand why this is funny when they see it - and then they're enjoy watching the guy next to them squirm. Guys will have a totally different reaction and it'll go something like this, "ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.......oh My GOD...that's something that you NEVER talk about after!"

Go see the clips from the link I gave above. The clips don't tell the whole story of what was funny about the scene, but you get a feel for the movie. They did a good job on the site.

You'll take away nothing intelligent from this movie, but it is good for a lot of laughs.


Love Stinks - Girl movie
http://videodetective.com/titledetails.aspx?PublishedID=99373

I've seen this movie about 15 times already. It's one of those movies that women will understand. The twist is the guys will understand it too.

It's a relationship movie - gone very, very badly...

They start off well and then when Seth doesn't want to commit, Chelsea takes matters into her own hands. The words, "You're annoying and molesting me" will become funny to you. The torture is on!

Again, this is a clean movie, but adult humor.

My daughter and I watch this movie when the guys are out of the house. The guys have seen it too and they both found it funny.


Second Hand Lions - Family Movie
http://www.secondhandlions.com/

An irresponsible mother drops her son off to be taken care of by two grumpy old uncles. The boy is a doll and the uncles are quirky. Their favorite pasttime is to shoot at traveling salesmen that trespass on their property.

The plot is great.
The acting is great.
The characters are perfectly casted.
It's a movie for kids and adults. You'll appreciate how they fish...


Saving Silverman - A movie you should never admit having watched
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0239948/trailers

It's crude.
It's stupid.
It's immature.
It's inappropriate.
It's fucking funny.

You will walk away from this movie dumber than when you started it. I laughed my ass off at most of it though because it was just so..................stupid!

Oh, and if you're a Neil Diamond fan - you'll love this movie.
Seriously, the last 10 minutes of this movie I laughed til I cried.
Jason Biggs; Jack Black and Steve Zahn - all morons