Urg...

[doc_destructo]

Ah, work.  Where I sit and wrestle with stomach pain.  Don't know what it is, since it's too high to be digestive problems, but seems to low to be indigestion.  Grr.

The past couple days have been great, though.  Little Dude got his new hearing aid molds and seems to be taking to them quite well.  He's also been identifying and repeating his ABC's, which is so neat.  It seems like he's broken through that "Terrible Two" phase and is maturing and learning some of his boundaries.  He'll even say "peez!" for some of his snacks if we prompt him.

Also got to watch a bunch of movies the past couple days.

Constantine

Because I am of the Nerd High Council, I know that the movie Constantine is base on the British Sting-lookalike paranormal guru in the Hellblazer comics.  Now, the movie centers around Keanu Reeves being a highly anti-social guy who banishes demons so he can bribe his way back into heaven because he's dying of lung cancer.  And since his on-screen chain-smoking almost puts John Wayne to shame (seriously, watch The Quiet Man sometime and try to count how many times The Duke tosses away a cig in disgust) you'll understand way.  I don't really have a lot to say about the movie other than that it was full of interesting ideas with some funny bits (sometimes intentional), but that the film really needed a director and writer with some pop.  The Wif kept suggesting Quentin Tarantino, but that's probably because she was drinking and seems to only like geeky movies if they're non-linear.  An okay movie, but I'm glad I didn't see it in the theatre.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Okay, it's official:  I'm now a Hayao Miyazaki junkie. 

I mean, I'd seen most of his films (Castle of Cagliostro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and his most recent Howl's Moving Castle) and really enjoyed them, but it didn't really dawn on me until I'd seen Nausicaa just how good the guy was.  This is his first real movie, and it easily compares to his newest stuff.  It takes place about 1000 years into the future, after humans have polluted the land so much that giant insects and poisonous foliage are spreading across the world, slowing cleansing the earth of the contaminants.  Things come to a head, though, as one kingdom tries to use one of those ancient weapons to destroy the bugs.  I'm continually amazed at how he manages to create a sincere message about existing in harmony with nature, have amazing action and character sequences, and somehow at the end of the movie, THERE ARE NO BAD GUYS!  Everyone in the film is shown as having some redemptive quality!  And it doesn't come off as trite!  Holy Crap!

In damn near every Disney movie that springs readily to mind, the antagonist is a completely unredeemable pile of evil and gets their terminal comeuppance.  In a Miyazaki film?  Characters have multiple facets and are acting in a manner that they believe to be the best course of action in a bad situation.  Oftentimes the protagonist and antagonist reach some kind of equilibrium at the end of the film.  No such room for shades of gray in Disney films, join us or die!

I ended up buying this DVD because I couldn't find it to rent anywhere, but I'm glad I did, especially since Disney makes them with the original Japanese voice track.  Awesome movie!  I just need to find Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle for cheap now...

Kung Fu Hustle

One could say so many things about Kung Fu Hustle.  One could call it a tour de force of film, merging traditional martial arts with today's latest computer technology.  One could call it a moving story about discovering your inner strength and realizing your potential.  One could call it monkey riding a carp through a platter of orange juice, too, and one would be lying through one's teeth.

Kung Fu Hustle is Stephen Chow's latest martial arts goofy comedy.  Yeah, who'd have thought such a thing from the creator of Shaolin Soccer?  It's a hilarious kung fu movie with gangsters dancing with hatchets, cantankerous kung fu masters, and a guy so hopeless and luckless he can't help but end up a kung fu genius at the end of the film.  I'd rather not say more about the movie, because it's damn funny and everyone should be surprised by it.

And now, back to work and stomach pain!