8/18/04

I've been wanting to blog for awhile, but the Olympics is just too captivating. I don't know why I'm so into it this year - in 2000, I didn't even pay attention to them at all. Did the Olympics happen that year? Anyway, I' ve been super into them this year, and it's been killing me at work. I stay up until 12 every night, and it's been tough to get up in the mornings, not to mention being tired at work. And yes, that does mean that I have an old guy lifestyle, where I get pretty tired at 11, and I'll be tired at work if I stay up past then every night. Sad.

Anyway, I saw "Garden State" last Saturday. It was the second "serious" movie I've seen in a row, which is kind of unusual for me, at least unusual for me as of late. When I was younger, in junior high and high school, I was really into serious movies, serious thinking, pretty much serious everything. I remember I used to watch movies and would enjoy them if there was at least one thing I could take away from it that would speak to me about life. But the last, I don't know, 6 years or so, I've only been wanting to watch movies that will entertain me. I'll go to Blockbuster with Miriam, and only want to rent "light" movies - comedies, or action movies that aren't really serious. I think this is some kind of reflection on me, but I'm not sure what it is. I've thought about it, but can't figure it out. But I think this is changing for me.

I thought "Garden State" was pretty good. It's pretty heavy movie without being one of those "I can't say anything for 10 minutes after this movie because it was sooooo serious"-type of movies. Suffice it to say, there's a lot of personal discovery, and it delves into issues raised by the postmodern-everybody's-psychologically-messed-up syndrome. It's also the brainchild and baby of Zach Braff, who you might know from the TV show Scrubs. Now, I've only seen about 4 episodes of Scrubs, but I think it's hilarious. So, I liked Zach Braff before I heard about the movie, and that was one thing that made me want to see it. It also has Natalie Portman, but I'll get more into her later.

I think one of the big reasons that I liked this movie is that I felt like I connected with a lot of its issues, much like I felt with "Before Sunset." I mean, I didn't really connect with all the drug use and dysfunction, but I think I'm definitely right in the middle of my "quarter life crisis." I mean, I don't feel like it's a crisis, but I've been thinking a lot about what it's all about these days. Life, God, purpose, meaning. But I think a lot of people feel like this around my age. I mean, this world seriously doesn't make much sense, and it's tough to feel like you have any kind of solid ground under your feet.

The movie wasn't truly outstanding, though, IMO. It was kind of like a great first try for Braff (writer/director/main character). It had a lot of really interesting things going on, was an interesting story, was exploring some interesting territory (is that a record for how many times you can say interesting in a sentence? That's my go to word). But it never quite broke new ground and it couldn't sustain any really superb filmmaking overall, just bits and pieces. So definitely worth watching, but not overwhelmingly good. I'd give it between 3 and 3 1/2 stars.

The other aspect of the movie was Natalie Portman. She was really good. I haven't seen "Beautiful Girls", but after that and "The Professional", she was well on her way to being a hyped and critically acclaimed teenage actress. Then came Star Wars. It pains me to say this, but that was a baaaaad career move. I don't really have time to get into why good actors come off terribly bad in George Lucas films, but suffice it to say, she's not the only one who's performance in Episodes I and II were less than stellar. Then came the pretty bad "Anywhere But Here" and "Where the Heart Is". I was beginning to think that she was never going to make the transition from "cute girl" to young adulthood. But with "Cold Mountain" and now this movie, it seems like she's turned the corner. I think she is well on her way to career resuscitation. Here's hoping that Episode III doesn't stop the momentum.