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after seeing the count of monte cristo for the second time, i have some more comments about the movie:
  • oh yeah, like, everyone's suppose to be french yet they all speak english? and aren't those pirates italians or something? and what language are they speaking? english again? just like you have to take that 16 years in prison yet perfectly manicured nails leap of faith, likewise you can't make a fuss about the authenticity of the language spoken if you are to enjoy this movie.
  • if the magistrate wanted edmond dantes to be gone so badly, why not just kill him instead of sending him to jail? i think it's silly to have a jail for political prisoners. if i ran a state, there would be no political prisoner jails in tonyangistan. the punishment for dissent is swift and immediate death. the world is a better place because i don't run it, i will freely admit that.
  • luis guzmán in a tiara!
  • spoiler! sucks to be albert, son of count mondego! first he discovers that his daddy is actually not his daddy, then he finds out that his new man friend the count of monte cristo is actually his real daddy, and his former daddy calls his mommy a whore, and he almost kills his real daddy while defending his supposed daddy, and his supposed daddy almost shoots and kills his mommy, and then his real daddy kills his fake daddy. talk about a bad day!

not sure what to make of a beautiful mind. it's like every actor's dream to play a mentally challenged character. guess russell crowe's famous enough now that he can finally afford his acting dream of playing a crazy person. based on a true story, but i felt it was a bit whitewashed. i've read about the controversy over the accuracy of the movie, and maybe that tainted my viewing of the film a little bit. alicia nash's (jennifer connelly) loyalty to her husband is borderline saintly. i wasn't able to root for john nash (crowe) because in the movie he's not a likeable character. i didn't buy into him. russell crowe's john nash reminded me of his portrayal of jeff wigand in the insider. the movie did present a really interesting viewpoint on schizophrenia. is that what it's like, seeing imaginary people, living in a world that you can't separate fantasy from reality? i also liked the movie's depiction of the mind of a genius. i don't understand all that math mumbo jumbo formulas, but looking at them you knew nash was pretty smart. the fact that girls found him irresistable even though he had very bad social skills was also kind of funny. i don't think i've ever seen a movie about a mathematician with that much sex appeal!

it was definitely a well made movie, but i didn't really connect with it. what was the message? the enduring quality of love? the mind of genius? the effects of madness? i would only recommend this film because it's up for oscar considerations and you might want to see what all the hooplahs about. maybe you'll like it more than i did. i don't hate the movie, but i left it with an empty feeling, somehow wanting more than the final resolution spoiler! of winning the nobel prize.

today was a bad day for movies. unseasonably warm (in the 50's, probably approaching the 60's), it was a day better spent outdoors in the sunshine than inside a darkened movie theatre. after running some errands in harvard square, i made my way to fenway 13. arriving early, i got my movie ticket ("one for beautiful mind please") and bought two hot dogs and a small coke. i ate my food and waited for amanda to show up. with my lunch consumed and approaching 1pm (movie's start time), i got a little antsy and went out to look around, simultaneously fishing for quarters from my bag to make the call. when i came back in to look for a phone (if only i had a cell!), amanda surprised me with her sudden appearance. while she got something to drink, i got her to get me a large tub of popcorn. while she paid for the food, i was busy on the side salting down the popcorn and adding some secret sugar to the mix as well. i got a little frisky with the salt shaker and created several pockets of high sodium dead zones. when we got to the screening room, the preshow entertainment had already started. it wasn't that crowded and we were able to find good seats while a trailer for queen of the damned played in the background. while we were snacking on the popcorn, amanda kindly informed me that i chew too loudly. i never knew that! either she's too sensitive or i do eat my popcorn loudly. imagine all the movie experiences i've ruined for others because they were all too polite to tell me about my chewing noises!

after a beautiful mind, amanda and i casually moseyed to the bathroom and then slipped away to the back of the theatre corridor. this was all part of our perfectly executed plan. friday night i had printed out the entire movie schedule for fenway 13, so we knew that immediately after a beautiful mind, the count of monte cristo would be waiting for us. i was surprised how little security there was as we easily sneaked into a free second movie. after we found our seats, i took out a bottle of orange crush and a package of chex mix from my bag, purchased at a cvs in harvard square. amanda wanted no business to do with the crush (even if it meant dehydration), saying how she hated orange drinks (i was perfectly willing to share). this was my second viewing of the count of monte cristo, having already seen it on valentine's day. it wasn't boring at all except for maybe the first half of the movie. i almost fell asleep during edmond dantes' incarceration. after he escaped though, it got pretty exciting.

after the count of monte cristo, we left the theatre, all movied out. close to 5 hours of movie watching, by that time it was already dark outside. i went with amanda to bed & baths beyond to do some shopping. i saw the coolest 3d aquarium scene toilet seat cover! i'm making a mental note of it as potential buy for my future home. after shopping, we parted ways at the fenway green line stop.

i heard the funniest thing at harvard square, from a suburban punkster (high school age maybe?) sitting on the floor with her other punked out friends:

"she looks young but she's not...she's 25 or something."

i almost burst out laughing. 25 is old? everything's relative i guess! i must've been a decade older than these kids, at least.

in other news, i went to bed early last night, 1am early, woke up this morning close to 11am. 10 hours of sleep, my batteries are charged. first weekend night in a long time where i actually got some substantial sleep for a change. normally i get less sleep on the weekends than i do on the weekdays. i probably went to bed early because of all the tryptophan in my blood stream. i had a beautiful sleep, no interruptions, woke up just in time to get dressed and go out.