Please assign new salacious definitions to the following terms, which are near and dear to the hearts of UM students: “Cornerstone,” “Fear the Turtle,” and “Diamondbacking.”

Cornerstone: When you get high in order to break through a sexual inhibition—like when pot helps you “turn a corner” sexually. “Sue wanted to peg her boyfriend Drew, but he just couldn’t do it until he got cornerstoned.”

Fear the Turtle: What a woman experiences when she realizes halfway through vaginal intercourse that her bowels are full and her enjoyment of the sex has been superseded by her fear of crapping the bed. “Sue had to ask Drew to stop fucking her because she feared the turtle. She got on the can for a minute, then hopped back in bed, and no longer feared the turtle.”

Diamondbacking: Consenting to anal sex in the hopes that doing so will inspire a boyfriend to propose. “Sue knew that Drew was totally into anal sex, so she let him diamondback her. Now they’re engaged.”

linkback to the Onion AV Club Original Post

I applied for this role:
Resource Development Communications Coordinator (3856)

Required Skills
Bachelors degree ideally in English, Communications or Marketing. Public relations, fundraising, marketing and/or communications experience as asset. Must display analytical and conceptual ability and good communications skills. Must have planning and monitoring skills and the ability to organize work and projects. Ability to make timely and quality judgements and decisions essential. Need good computer skills including internet navigation and MS Office.
at Save the Children but was declined because of potential better candidates. Which is fine, but it was a down because I thought I could do it and found it enjoying. Ah well.

But as for ups and downs, this weekend I will be skiing (or attempting to) for the first time. So I’ll be either up and down the mountain or down on my ass and up on my feet.

Lastly, my possible trip, which is an up, is maybe to Brazil to see the Amazon in March. We can only see… If so, then I’ll surely have pictures and maybe write on this blog. For now though, its mostly been me updating my music one.

Slumdog Millionaire won 5 awards at the Critics Choice awards including Best picture.

Here are my two earlier posts:

Must See Movies – Slumdog and Rachel

Dharavi Slumdog article

And my terrible photos from the MIAAC Slumdog Millionaire premiere. Featuring (the Moderator), Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Loveleen Tandan and someone else participating in Q&A.

One of the first film comparisons that draws to mind when watching Darren Aronofsky’s latest film, The Wrestler, would be Rocky. But watching this film, I was drawn in mostly for the feelings of loneliness it conveys. First, there is the main story of Randy “The Ram” Robinson as a former pro-wrestler now resigned to small-time independent matches, 20 years after his fame. He even has a Nintendo (original NES) videogame with his character in it and his signature move the “Ram Jam“. And though they are still staged, some of his current matches have an almost backyard style of violence with barbed-wire and broken glass. We see him early on having been locked out of his trailer and working in a supermarket, solitary except for those who recognize his past glory.

And second is the loneliness we see through Cassidy (a topless Marisa Tomei), as an “older” stripper who does not get the attention (or bucks) she wants to be dancing at a club. (POSSIBLE SPOILERS) After collapsing following a match early on, The Ram tries to reach out to his Cassidy as a possible love interest but she passes on him because she cant be seen with a customer. Though with her advise, The Ram attempts to reach out to his daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) and make amends for his past failed parenting. And he retires, taking on fulltime work at the supermarket in the deli.

Overall this movie may take some repeated views to warrant the super-high rating on Rotten Tomatoes (96%), but this 4th movie from Darren Aronofsky is extremely well done.  I imagine that the warm interactions between the wrestlers backstage pre-match and the violence in the ring as well as some fine camera work, close ups and vantages of The Ram, are note-worthy. In any case, I like all of Aronofsky’s earlier works and I like this one as well, very much so. Maybe not a must see in theaters, but there is much that can be discussed, so hopefully you wont see it all alone.

The Wrestler Review @ NY Times
The Wrestler @ IMDB
The Wrestler @ Rotten Tomatoes
Darren Aronofsky interview @ the AV Club

After obtaining Batman The Dark Knight on blu-ray for free in an Amazon.com promotional sale, I spent much time deliberating what my first official blu-ray purchase would be. There are a ton of my favorite movies already out on blu-ray including The Shawshank Redemption, L.A. Confidential and Pan’s Labyrinth, I dont want to pay the new-release price for films that may become very discounted new and easily obtainable used. But then I was made aware that the Criterion Collection, known for releasing outstanding versions of foreign, speciality and cult films with pristine transfers and outstanding extras often under the directors supervision on laser disc and dvd, would be issuing its first movies on blu-ray in December.

So with their release of Bottle Rocket, I decided that I need to continue my collection of Wes Anderson films (3 others of which already out from Criterion) and make that my first purchase. Co-written with Owen Wilson, one of my favorite comedic character actors, this is an entertaining film with a great cast. And as Criterion has again pulled out all the stops with the bonuses, including the original Bottle Rocket short film that I have never seen, it clearly increases the value of the film from a purchasing and collecting standpoint. Plus this introduces the lovable Kumar Pallana, playing Kumar, who re-appears in other Anderson films like the Royal Tenenbaums as Pagoda.

I also decided to pick up Criterion’s The Man Who Fell to Earth, also released on dvd, starring David Bowie as a semi-random purchase. I debated about picking up Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express, (review, 2nd) but that can wait for another day.

And thats my internal debate on owning films on dvd or blu-ray. The costs for initial purchase are often much higher than it ends up being and if you dont watch a film often enough, it may not be truly worth owning as they films are continually re-released on the latest format or their anniversary or for some made up reason just to make an extra buck. But Criterion releases are the definitive versions that every true movie collector should have. And their current and future releases are all worth at least a look.

And as a side note, the short soundtrack to the Bottle Rocket Short Film was also released digitally.  by Concord Music Group and contains a few jazz tracks that they could not afford to license for the actual film.

Critic’s Choice – Criterion Releases Wes Anderson’s ‘Bottle Rocket’ – NYTimes.com

Bottle Rocket (1996) – The Criterion Collection
Bottle Rocket – by James L Brooks
DVD Talk Review
Bottle Rocket – by Martin Scorsese
Bottle Rocket Review at Popmatters

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) – The Criterion Collection
DVD Talk Review

It combines slight fantasy elements from Tim Burton’s Big Fish, adventurous story-telling like Forrest Gump and perhaps a bit of the heavy-heartedness of Jack (starring Robin Williams and yeah of course Jack isnt anywhere near the caliber as those other films but whatever). But mostly its about the love that grows between Daisy and Benjamin.

Its possible to know when an opportunity is missed, but its not possible to avoid fate. And while the film does not get overly metaphorical, it does wrench emotion from the audience. Several females were crying by the end as it is hard not to feel for the characters and the decisions they make. In the end a person needs to let go of grudges and go with the flow of time, even if it flows in reverse.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Rotten Tomatoes
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – NYTimes.com

The picture caught my eye, so then I had to read the article. The people in the slums just need the opportunity to move out of there, its not for lack of education, its for lack of opportunity.
It of course mentions Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle’s latest film. One of the best of the year.

IGN Wii: Wii Game of the Year 2008
IGN PS3: PS3 Game of the Year 2008
IGN DS: DS Game of the Year 2008
Spike video game award winners

Slumdog Millionaire
Directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan
Cast: Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan

I was fortunate to have caught Slumdog Millionaire’s premiere at the MIAAC Film Festival this year which featured the two directors, writer Simon Beaufoy and the two lead actors in a Q&A. The movie itself is a vibrant and often frantic retelling of Jamal’s (Dev) life and how he knows the answers to the questions on the Indian version of Who wants to be a Millionaire. This is intertwined with his love for Latika (Freida) and his relationship with his brother Salim. Set in Bombay, it gives a great and accurate depiction of the chaos and tragedies in that city. The score by A.R. Rahman (with a new song featuring vocals by M.I.A.) adds to the excitement. Even though alot of it is in Hindi, the subtitles are not just placed on the bottom but boldly displayed in the middle. Stay through the first parts of the credits and you’ll see the cute young children dancing.

Slumdog Millionaire (imdb)
Slumdog Millionaire – Official Site
Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” Captures Mumbai, a City of Extremes – NYTimes.com
Review – Slumdog Millionaire – NYTimes.com
84/100 Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Metacritic Reviews

Rachel Getting Married
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt and Tunde Adebimpe

Set in Connecticut, this story about Kym (Anne) getting out of rehab and attending her sisters wedding is very emotional and very well done. There are past emotional issues to get through and the story is never quite about Rachel as Kym usurps attention with her post-rehab issues. The characters never feel cliched and the story is kept simple though wrought with emotion albeit with moments of humor and levity. Music is a small but important part of the film, as the groom Sidney (Tunde) and his friends all seem to be musicians and Tunde himself is in the band TV on the Radio.

Rachel Getting Married (imdb)
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (official site)
Review – ‘Rachel Getting Married’ – NYTimes.com
82/100 Rachel Getting Married (2008): Metacritic Reviews

Indie film I am currently hoping to see, The Pool.

imdb (cast/crew, info, etc) and rotten tomatoes (review round-up; 29% cream-of-the-crop)