Knitting and Wall-E

I finished another piece for the Knitters for Obama, but this time it's part of another KFO project:



Project Name: South Dakota Square (50-State Afghan)
Designer: Rhonda White
Pattern Source: http://www.knittingknonsense.com/people_places.html
Yarn: Vanna's Choice
Yarn Source: Another KFO knitter
Date Started: 7/5/08
Date Completed: 7/12/08

Comments: This is my contribution to the 50-State Afghan, which is going to be a prize in a fundraising drawing by the Knitters for Obama group on Ravelry. There are a ton of fantastic prizes, so if you're so inclined, the details are here.

I've also finished the first of my Leyburn socks:



and here's the side, heel view:



This pattern isn't super stretchy, but it fits me perfectly. You increase once you start the legs since you have the pattern stitch all the way around, but it also made it much wider than the foot, so I was a little worried it would be too big and droopy. But my thick calves came in handy - it fits exactly as I would want it to fit.

I finally got to see the movie that's been raved about so much, too:



Everyone else has probably already seen it, so I won't get into too much detail, but a quick synopsis - Wall-E is that adorable robot. He seems to be alone on Earth (except for his indestructible pet cockroach) after it's been abandoned by us human after we trashed the place like a rockstar in a hotel room. He's eventually joined by another robot, Eve, and they end up both joining the humans on their endless vacation. I absolutely adored this movie. It's funny, sad, exciting, wise, everything you want in a film. It's absolutely gorgeous. The animation is so detailed and beautiful that there were times where I completely forgot it was animated. I really wanted to get into Wall-E's "room" and look through all the little bins of things he had found and saved. Even though Wall-E never says a word and is a machine, you could completely read his every thought and emotion (and he definitely had both). If you haven't seen this yet, please do. I really think it's a movie that's begging to be seen on the big screen so you could truly appreciate the beauty of the animation.

Another new project

I haven't knit a sweater for myself in a while, so I decided it was time to do that again:



It's the Mr. Greenjeans sweater from Knitty. I'm using some Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn called Peru. It's an alpaca, merino, silk blend that I just love. Very soft and cushy. The colorway I'm using is one of the Raven colorways called Thraven. So far I'm happy with how it's going.

I got to see a sneak preview of Alex Gibney's newest documentary this week:



For those who aren't familiar with Hunter S. Thompson, he was a writer, best known for creating what is known as Gonzo Journalism. He's most associated with his columns for Rolling Stone magazine and his books such as "Fearing and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail." Thompson inserted himself into his stories, becoming a part of the story, and wrote from his own personal perspective. I guess you could say he was the first "imbedded reporter". He took vast quantities of drugs and injected outlandish fiction into his stories. The film does a great job of looking at Thompson's life, from his early days riding with the Hell's Angels for a controversial book he wrote about the group, through his peak writing for Rolling Stone and travelling with George McGovern during the 1972 presidential election, through his final decision to commit suicide after Bush was re-elected in 2004. Johnny Depp sort of narrates the film by reading passages from Thompson's work, and there are tons of interviews with his two wives and son, writing colleagues such as Tom Wolfe, Douglas Brinkley and Jann Wenner, and political figures such as George McGovern, Jimmy Carter and Pat Buchanan. It's highly entertaining and again shows how the more things change, the more they seem the same - the late 60s seem so similar to the period we're in now. I really wish Thompson was around now to write about this election. I think he would have loved Barack Obama. I also have to say I loved the soundtrack. The film uses the music of the era - huge hits that everyone knows - to punctuate what's happening on screen. I guess it's sort of like a movie I don't like, Forrest Gump, but I liked the wink Gibney seems to give in the song choices.

Reviews

I saw a couple of movies last week. First was:



It was pretty good. Not as good as Iron Man, but not bad. Edward Norton has finally won me over. The first movie I saw him in was Primal Fear. He got incredible reviews and was touted as the next big thing. I thought he was just ok. Overrated. But over time, he's really won me over. I've really liked him in The Illusionist, The Painted Veil and this film, so he's officially off my list of actors who kind of bug me. Norton plays Bruce Banner, who everyone probably knows turns into The Incredible Hulk because of his exposure to high levels of gamma rays. There were little nods to the tv show, which I was a huge fan of back in the day, and the comic books, which I really liked. I felt like it was just a little too much action, though. Tim Roth plays Blonsky, who turns into The Abomination. The climactic battle scene between the Hulk and the Abomination felt like a rip off of the Transformers battle scene from last summer's movie - or like Godzilla, as my brother pointed out. It just wasn't all that interesting to me and the movie felt like it dragged out. If you're a fan of super heroes, comic books and big action films, I'd say check it out. If that stuff isn't your cup of tea, skip this, but go check out Iron Man - I'm telling you, it's a great movie!

The other movie I saw was this:



I didn't care for this one. I really wanted to like it. I've been a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan. I liked Signs and The Village even though I may be one of the few. Didn't see the last one. I checked out the reviews for this one and some of my favorite critics liked it, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The writing was just terrible. If you sit and think about the plot and what happens for any amount of time, the whole thing just falls apart. And I've been a big Mark Wahlberg fan, but he sounded so wooden and stiff reciting these incredibly lame lines. The idea was pretty good - some sort of biological disaster is causing people to kill themselves. The opening sequence where you first see something taking hold of people and them killing themselves is pretty scary and creepy. But then it all sort of unravels. There were a few moments of suspense, but it really wasn't very scary or suspenseful and I don't blame him for not wanting to be a one-trick pony, but there isn't some sort of trick twist ending, either.

And I finished up a book:



I've heard so many great recommendations for this series and I finally picked up the first one. The main character is Stephanie Plum, a woman who becomes a bouny hunter because she really doesn't have many other choices. Her first assignment is to capture Joe Morelli, a former cop accused of murder who also happens to be sort of an ex-boyfriend. Plum is a great character and the writing and pace of the story are great. The mystery kept me guessing most of the way through the book and I liked how everything got wrapped up. I'm assuming Morelli makes his way into future novels, and I'll be looking forward to reading his, Stephanie's and her family's further adventures.

So Much Goodness!

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted, but so many good things have been going on!! I don't even know where to start. Last weekend I went to the drive in but I'm not even going to review those two films. I saw the new Indiana Jones movie, but Bill got to the movie late and he was bringing the food, so I spent a good 20 - 30 minutes dishing up food for the kids and getting everything together, so I feel like I didn't see the film well enough to do a review. My impression of it is that if you like the Indy films, you'd probably like this one. I enjoyed most of it, but I thought the end was a little too hokey, a little forced and wrapped things up a little too neatly. I'm a big Shia Lebeouf fan, and I liked him in this movie, so if they start a new series with Shia, I'll probably keep going. The other movie was the new Chronicles of Narnia movie. I never saw the first one and I only read the first couple of chapters of Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe as a pre-teen, so I really didn't understand what all was going on. I think this one is another one where if you're the intended audience, you're probably going to like it, but otherwise, eh. Not bad, but nothing earthshaking.

I managed to finish a project that I never even got a chance to introduce to you all.



Project Name: Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks Scarf
Designer: beforesunrise
Pattern Source: A Time to Knit blog
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino - Purple Mystery Colorway
Yarn Source: The Yarnery
Date Started: 5/22/08
Date Completed: 6/6/08

Comments: This was a super quick project, primarily because I had a two-day CLE and I knit on the scarf through about 3/4 of it. I absolutely love this pattern and would love to do it again with a variegated yarn. I know the picture looks like a blue scarf, but it actually is an absolutely stunning color of purple. The red tones just would not show up in the pictures. You can see it a little better on the Malabrigo website, but they still didn't capture how striking the color is. I used 2 skeins of yarn and it's 64" long. I used a size 9 needle and cast on 33 stitches. It is 5.25" wide. This is a fantastic yarn - just as soft as you'd expect from Malabrigo and with a nice sheen from the silk. I would definitely use it again. Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern:



I also got to see one of my favorite bands last week:



In case you don't recognize those guys, it's REM. I've seen them quite a few times and I'd put this show close to the top of their best. As I (and the bands I grew up with) age, I find it interesting to see how the tock stars are handling the approach of middle age. I have to say, age hasn't phased Michael Stipe a bit. He still looks fantastic, long and lanky and bendy and energetic. The band played a great mix of old stuff and new songs off their latest album. I haven't bought the new album yet, but I definitely will after seeing this show - it sounds like a good one. Here's the set list for the other REM fans out there:

Living Well’s The Best Revenge
These Days
Disturbance at the Heron House
What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
Hollow Man
Shaking Through
Man Sized Wreath
West of The Fields
Accelerate
Ignoreland
Star 69
Auctioneer
Houston
Electrolite
The One I Love
Final Straw
Sweetness Follows
Let Me In
Walk Unafraid
Horse To Water
Bad Day
I’m Gonna DJ
Encore
Supernatural Superserious
Welcome to the Occupation
Losing My Religion
Fall on Me (w/Johnny Marr)
Man on the Moon

The highlight of the week, though, happened in the same spot two nights earlier:



It was an incredible speech and I felt so lucky to be part of such an historic occasion. And the fact that the candidate that I feel so passionate about actually got the nomination made it even more spectacular. That never happens! I didn't take a ton of pictures, but I did take a few, which I'll share in case you're interested. It was my first time seeing Michelle Obama and I love her and I'm kind of obsessed with her purple dress, so I took a lot of pictures of the couple together. Here they are coming out to the roaring crowd:



Oh my gosh, they look so good together!



Here's the candidate, giving his amazing speech. The cheer when he announced he was the nominee was deafening!



And I couldn't resist this last one at the end, when Barack puts his arm around Michelle - the intimacy and love of the gesture was touching.



And I was even more happy about my latest yarn purchase:



It's from Black Bunny Fibers and a portion of the price goes to the Obama campaign. Yay!!

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend as much as I am. I still get a little thrill out of having a day off of work and still getting paid.

I've had some good crafting time over the weekend. I finished up the last of my Knitters for Obama preemie hats:



These are winging their way off to the old home state, South Dakota. And with that, the primary/caucus season is over and we're done knitting preemie hats. Once the nomination is official, we'll be knitting for the general election, if you're interested in joining in.

I've also started a couple of new projects. The first I officially started a couple of months ago, but I put it on hold to finish up my projects from Yarnover. And it's not even knitting:



It's the first square for the Babette blanket. I'm not much of a crocheter, but I got help getting started from two women in my lunchtime knitting group who are very good crocheters and now I'm on my way. It's a fairly simple pattern to crochet, if you're thinking about it and intimidated by the idea of crocheting all those squares. Obviously, it's a bit futzy with all of the color changes and sewing the squares together, though.

The original project is gorgeous and brightly colored, but since I already made a really brightly colored blanket recently, I decided to go in a different direction and go with more neutral colors. The original also calls for Koigu, which is fantastic, but a little pricey. So I'm using one of my all time favorite yarns, Rowan Classic Yarns Cashsoft 4-Ply. Not the cheapest yarn on the planet, but I got a lot of it on sale at Elann, so it wasn't prohibitively expensive. And it's amazingly soft. Stay tuned for more developments.

And I couldn't let a long weekend pass without a movie:



Oh my gosh, I loved this movie! I don't know what took me so long to see it with a cast like this. Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell star as a couple of Irish hitmen who work for an English gangster played by Ralph Fiennes. Farrell and Gleeson are shipped off to Bruges, Belgium after one of their hits goes awry and then need to hide out for a while. This suits Gleeson just fine - he loves the architecture and history of the place and Bruges really does look gorgeous in the film. Farrell is bored to tears though, having the intelligence and maturity of about a 12 year old. Things don't go as planned in Bruges, either, though, so Fiennes ends up having to show up and set things straight. And that's all I'll say about the plot, because you need to see it all unfold for yourself. It's all put together like a thing of beauty - with one event causing another, causing another. It's really a well written script. It's so unique too - hilariously funny but deadly serious in turns. I guess the closest I could compare it to is Pulp Fiction. Though this isn't anywhere near as bloody as Pulp Fiction and is actually funnier. And I can't review the film without commenting on how great it is to see Colin Farrell again, especially in such a great role. A few if us at work came up with our lists, you know the list, the five people who would get a pass from your significant other for if you had a chance to you know, get intimate with. Farrell is on my list and seeing him in glasses really confirmed his place on the list!

I also need to bring your attention to another film I saw this weekend, this time on DVD:



This is an amazing documentary about how our handling of post-Saddam Iraq has gone so poorly. The film clearly and in a really simple way lays out the decisions that were made and how that led to the chaos that ensued. Most of the most illuminating interviews are with people who were part of the Bush Administration's work in Iraq, so these are not crazy-eyed liberals who were opposed to the war from the start. I can think of no better way to honor our servicemen and women than to see this film and really understand why so many died needlessly in this war and how to make better decisions in the future so that this situation does not happen again.

More than just Movies

I finished up another preemie cap for the Knitters for Obama effort - this one was shipped off to Kentucky.



I also saw something a little more mainstream than the Film Festival stuff I've been reviewing lately:



I have to say, though, I loved it! I'm a sci fi/comic book fan, so I love it when a super hero film is done right and I definitely would say this was done right. If you're one of the few who haven't seen it yet, Iron Man is the alter ego of Tony Stark, a millionaire playboy who owns a weapons manufacturing company. He's a genius and when he's injured while showing off his newest weapon in Afghanistan, he gets himself out of captivity by building himself a suit of armor out of pieces of his weapons - oh yeah, a FLYING suit of armor. When he was initially captured, he took a lot of shrapnel in the chest. He has an electronic magnet implanted in his chest to keep the sharpnel from flowing through his veins into his heart, killing him. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Tony Stark/Iron Man and it's brilliant casting. Downey's own checkered history and redemption give a certain honesty to his portrayal of Stark. The film has fantastic special effects and keeps you totally engaged in the story. There is also a layer to the story about war and profiteering that will keep serious moviegoers interested too. But this is seriously a fantastic popcorn movie and the perfect way to kick off the summer movie season.

Besides movie-going, I've also been enjoying some music. I saw this fantastic duo:



What a wonderful show. They each have really gorgeous voices, but joined together it's just magical. They played a number of songs from "Once", some songs from their album and a couple of new songs. The crowd was really enthusiastic. They definitely have a devoted following. Glen Hansard introduced almost all of the songs and in true Irish fashion, couldn't resist a bit of storytelling. Sometimes the song intros were longer than the songs themselves. :-) Overall it made for a really wonderful evening and I hope this pair is together for a long time to come.

I also got to see this hilarious duo:



Another completely enjoyable evening. My friends and I had rockstar seats for this one and it was so much fun to see Flight of the Conchords up close and personal. If you haven't seen their show on HBO, their a New Zealand duo who play folky/pop songs with witty and hilarious lyrics. The tv show weaves their songs into each episode where they play characters very similar to themselves - kind of like Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seeing the songs performed without the context of the show wasn't any less enjoyable. Bret and Jemaine are both goofy, funny and completely adorable. If you haven't seen this show and enjoy smart humor, check it out.

Wrapping Up M-SPIFF

I ended the film festival like I began it - watching a documentary by one of the masters of the form. This time it was Werner Herzog:



I couldn't find a poster for the film, but as you may be able to suss out from the photograph, this was a film about a very cold place. It's called "Encounters at the End of the World" and it's a sort of travel journal/nature documentary about Herzog's trip to Antarctica. There are a few penguins in the film, but it's not your typical nature doc. Herzog definitely shows some gorgeous sites - this really is meant to be seen on the big screen, especially if you like snow and ice. But he also concentrates on the people living in Antarctica. As you can imagine, it takes a certain type of person to choose to live "at the end of the world", and the people we meet in the film are quirky. Herzog narrates and he's got a very dry sense of humor.

I only watched one film in the Best of the Fest:



This was another film I couldn't find a poster for. It's called "Witnesses to a Secret War." It's about the U.S.' clandestine war in Laos during the Vietnam War. The U.S. recruited the Hmong people in Laos to fight against the Communist troops in North Vietnam. When North Vietnam and Laos fell to the Communists, the U.S. abandoned almost all of the Hmong who were no longer safe in Laos. Most of the Hmong went to refugee camps in Thailand and many have settled here in the U.S. We have a huge population of Hmong in St. Paul and the film also profiles Hmong refugees - both those who came to St. Paul in the 70s and those who were still in Thailand when the film began. It's a really interesting look at the immigrant experience and a good lesson about how we treat the "freedom fighters" we recruit abroad. The film will be returning to Oak Street next month and will also be shown on PBS some time next year.

I also had a chance to see a sneak preview of an upcoming film:



This is a Merchant-Ivory film and whatever thoughts spring to your mind when you hear that label, probably apply to this film. It's a big, lush, beautiful period drama. It's the story of a young man, T.K., in India in the 1930s who is working for a wealthy English businessman. T.K. comes from a very traditional Indian family, but was educated in English schools, so he's sort of a part of both worlds. His boss is having an affair with his Indian housekeeper, even though both are already married. I probably don't have to tell you that kind of thing didn't go over very well in India in the 1930s and T.K. has to figure out where his loyalties lie and what he's willing to do when the relationship is exposed. The film is really well made and quite lovely, but it left me a little cold. I just didn't feel any emotional connection to the characters or the type of urgency that I think I should have.

Documentaries

I know even among the movie watching group, there aren't that many who love documentaries, so I'll try to keep this short. But I find that those who do love them, like to hear if something is good and this is always a good place for me to find info about something I've seen in the past. This year's M-SPIFF had a lot of documentaries and I found some that I really enjoyed.



Lynch is probably the least widely appealing of the films I saw. It's a documentary about the film director David Lynch. If you're not familiar with his work, he loves to take beautiful images and idyllic situations and then show how under the surface everything is rotten. He also is quite a surrealist, putting unexpected images and characters into his films. I'm a huge Lynch fan, so I enjoyed seeing how his twisted mind works in this movie. It was mostly filmed while he was working on his last movie, Inland Empire, so you got to see a lot of interviews about what he was thinking about and see how he meticulously sculpted some of the sets and directed actors, etc. in creating the film. I think this film is probably reserved for those who are fellow Lynchphiles or perhaps people who are just really interested in seeing an artist's creative process.



I guess this one may have limited appeal also, but it shouldn't. I'm not a huge rap fan and I only know a handful of Public Enemy songs, but I do know that they've been hugely influential, so I wanted to find out more. If you are a big fan of the group, I'm not sure how much new information is revealed in the film, but for me, it was really fascinating. The heart and soul of PE is Chuck D, who is revealed as a really thoughtful, borderline genius of the industry. The way he combines a pointed political message with a party atmosphere on stage is just brilliant. Flavor Flav is clearly crazy, but Chuck D is smart enough to know how important he is to the success of the band. Professor Griff and The S1W are less known in the mainstream, I think, but add a gravitas to the band. The film contains a lot of concert footage that I think is probably appealing to the fans, even if they already know the full story of PE. There are also a lot of interviews with other artists who have been influenced by PE such as Henry Rollins and the Beastie Boys.



A film I think everyone should see is "American Teen". LOVE that poster (if you're not as ancient as I am, it's a take off on the Breakfast Club poster). It follows the story of 4 teenagers in an small Indiana town as they go through their senior year of high school. At first you think they really are just like the characters in Breakfast Club - the rich, popular girl, the slightly off-beat girl, the high school jock and the geeky misfit. But just like in Breakfast Club, you find out people don't fit in neat little boxes. Things aren't easy for anyone when they're 17 years old, facing decisions about the future, trying to fit in, figuring out who you really are. I was completely fascinated with them all and at times loved each one and at times wanted to shake each one because they were being so stupid. It was just endlessly entertaining - funny and sad in parts.



Up the Yangtze was also a really engaging film focusing on some teenage subjects. This time it is two Chinese teenagers working on a cruise ship on the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Dam is flooding out vast expanses of land on the banks of the Yangtze River. So rich Americans and Europeans have been taking cruises up the river to see the area before it disappears. The film follows two teens who work on one of these cruises - one a boy from a comfortable family. He's an only child and a boy, one of the generation that their boss on the ship talks about as being totally pampered and spoiled by their parents and families. The other is a girl from a poor family who is losing their home due to the dam. They live in a small shack and farm a piece of land on the banks of the Yangtze. They don't have enough money to send their daughter to high school, so she reluctantly takes a job on the cruise. The film does a great job combining these personal stories with the bigger story of China's turn toward capitalism and how the economic progres and success of some in the country comes at the expense of those less fortunate.

More Foreign Films

Just so I don't lost all my knitting readers, I'll start with the knitting. I have been knitting a little bit in between films. Here's most of what I've been working on:



I'm in Knitters for Obama on Ravelry and we've been knitting up preemie hats and baby bibs to send out to the states before their primary/caucuses to generate some good publicity and good feelings. Here's one story about it.

I also finished up the Lucy Neatby bracelet I started in class at Yarnover:



I haven't sewn on a button because it's way too small for my wrist. She has instructions for how to lengthen the bracelet at the end of the pattern but since I didn't read through the whole thing before I started knitting that was just a little too late for me. When I realized I was getting ready to finish it up and it was going to be too small, I decided I didn't want to rip back and try to make it longer, so I'm contemplating either giving it to my niece or just making it into a keychain instead.

OK, that's about it for knitting. Back to the movies. In the foreign film category but not nominated for an Academy Award I saw an Irish movie called "Kings":



Kings is the first major bilingual (it's mostly in Irish Gaelic, but there are some scenes in English) Irish film. It's about six men who emigrated from Derry to London in the late 70s as young men, full of dreams of success. It's 30 years later now and one of them has died, so they rest come together for the funeral and wake. Most of the men haven't found the success they dreamed of - only Joe, played by Colm Meaney, who runs a successful real estate business. All of the men are alcoholics (although Joe also indulges in cocaine) and struggling with their own guilt over their friend's death and facing the thoughts that come when you think about your own mortality. The film is based on a play and the bulk of the film takes place in a bar room and feels very stagey. They are able to show flashbacks to the young men and the days leading up to their friend's death, though. I really connected with the characters and the feelings of isolation, loneliness and disappointment. I recognize those men. I thought this was a really good companion piece to "Tiger's Tail" also. The economy is going great guns in Ireland, but these guys left before that happened and now are absolutely destitute, living in ramshackle homes. The acting was really great, but I wish I spoke Irish so I could have fully understood it without having to read the subtitles.



The next film I saw was Boarding Gate and I think your reaction to this film depends on your feelings about its star, Asia Argento. I saw her once described as an indie film version of Angelina Jolie and I think that's a perfect description. She absolutely exudes sensuality. I though it was ok. It's a sort of thriller. Argento plays an ex-prostitute who had a very destructive relationship with a successful businessman played by Michael Madsen. The plot is pretty convoluted and not very realistic. But it's gorgeously shot and beautiful to look at. If you're an Argento fan, it's a must see.



Myrin (Jar City to American audiences) is another thriller, this one from Iceland. Jar City is a more straight forward, traditional thriller and I really enjoyed it. I've only been to Iceland once, but I thought the film captured the dark and depressed nature of Reykjavik really well. The people I met there were beautiful and very kind, but everyone seemed very down and depressed - I think that has something to do with how short the days are during the winter. But I came away from the film the same way I came away from my trip - wanting to spend more time there and sort of drawn to it. The film is about a police detective investigating the murder of a man in his apartment. The investigation leads to more crimes, some that happened years ago. It also explores the detective's relationship with his daughter, a drug addict living on the streets. I was really caught up in the story and enjoyed following it through its twists and curves. This is a film for those who enjoy smart, dark thrillers.

OK, enough for now. Next time, documentaries.

So Many Movies, so little time

OK, I've been overdosing on the M-SPIFF so I have a ton of movies to review. I know most of these are obscure and while I've gotten some great comments and I appreciate it, I know not everyone cares about a documentary about David Lynch, so I'm going to break this up into several posts and try to make them short reviews. If movies aren't your thing, check back next week and maybe I'll have some pretty knitting pictures!

I guess I'll start with some foreign films. I mentioned last time I saw one of the films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. I saw three more of them. The last Talk Cinema for this season was:



This is a bio-pic of Ghengis Khan. It's the first in what is intended to be a trilogy, so it covers the period of when he was 9 years old until he united all of the parts of Mongolia and became "Ghengis Khan". (Khan means leader) This is one of those big, sprawling movies that you need to see on the big screen. There's gorgeous scenery of Mongolia and huge armies fighting each other. I really think it would lose some of its power on television, so if you have a chance to see it on the big screen, take it. I think it may get a more wide release in the art houses later. I really enjoyed the film. I didn't know much about Ghengis Khan and I was just fascinated with his early life. It's very bloody, with those big battle scenes with swords and blood flying everywhere. But it's also a love story about the man and his wife. I was somewhat skeptical about the authenticity of the story because he seemed like such a modern guy, but it appears that a lot of it is probably based on historical facts. Since it was so long ago, some of the details are hard to verify, but the speculation does suggest this story is close to what really happened. Ghengis Khan was a pretty remarkable man and this is a flattering portrait. If you like big, historical epics, this is a film you'd enjoy.



Katyn is another historical film, this one about the massacre of thousands of Polish Army officers in the Katyn forest during World War II. Poland was being invaded by Germany on one side and Russia on the other. Russia was looking down the road to after the war and wanted to neutralize any dissent from Poland (most of the intellectuals in the country were army officers during the war), so they secretly massacred the entire group and blamed it on Germany. Of course Germany claimed innocense and blamed it on Russia, but since Poland became part of the U.S.S.R., the truth of what happened didn't really come out until Gorbachev came into power. It's another part of the war that I didn't know anything about until I saw this film and it was really interesting. There were some parts of the film that I thought were a little disjointed and I had trouble following. Sometimes I had trouble keeping track of who different characters were and sometimes characters seemed to just appear out of nowhere. But the end of the movie is so strong and so powerful that I forgave any of the weaknesses.



This last film is also based on a true story. This time it's about an Israeli military post in Lebanon on the Beaufort Mountain. The Israeli army captured the mountain during the Lebanon War in 1982 and maintained its presence there until 2000, when it decided to withdraw. The film is about the Army troops stationed at the post in the last days before the withdrawal. Hezbollah constantly attacked Beaufort and right before the withdrawal, they stepped up their attacks to try to make it look like the Israelis were retreating due to weakness rather than voluntarily withdrawing. If I had a vote for the Oscars, this would be my choice as best Foreign Language film (although I didn't see the last nominee, 12). It was a really powerful film about war and the futility of some military action and the way the soldiers get caught up in the middle of decisions made far, far away. If I had one criticism, it would be that a lot of war movie cliches are used in this film. When a guy starts waxing poetically about his girl back home and how he's going to ship back home in a couple of days, you kind of know what is coming next. Other than that, though the acting was excellent and the pacing was excellent. I felt like I was right there in that outpost with them, under attack. I just really found this one so moving and would highly recommend it.

More foreign films and lots more documentaries next time. The documentary I posted about before, "At the Death House Door" is playing again at Oak Street Cinema (as is Katyn) as part of the Best of Fest series.

More Movies, but not M-SPIFF

I saw a couple of movies outside of the festival this week. First up was:



Technically, The Visitor is part of the M-SPIFF, because it was the opening film. But I couldn't make it that night and was lucky enough to get tickets to a sneak peek this week. It's opened at the Lagoon this weekend and it's a wonderful film. It's about a Connecticut college professor named Walter who is living a life of quiet desperation. He is forced to present a paper at a conference in NYC, but when he shows up at the apartment he keeps in the city, he finds it's been illegally sublet to Tarek, a drummer from Syria and his Senegalese girlfriend. Walter doesn't want to force them out on the street, so he lets them stay with him in the apartment until they can find somewhere else to live. Then Walter and Tarek become friends, with Tarek teaching Walter how to play the African drums. One day after a day of playing drums in the park, Tarek is arrested and since he's in the country illegally, he's detained for deportation. The film is a small story about something real, but it doesn't come across as some great lecture or white liberal guilt. It's incredibly well acted and well written and directed. You get very involved in these characters' lives and really want things to turn out well for them. The writer/director is Tom McCarthy, who played one of the least sympathetic characters ever to appear on The Wire (a show that features drug dealers and murderers, dirty cops, selfish politicians and apathetic teachers). Obviously, McCarthy is just as gifted an actor as he is a writer and director.

I also saw this film:



The Counterfeiters won this year's foreign language Oscar and while I wouldn't say it measures up to last year's winner (The Lives of Others), it still is a very good film. The film is based on the true story of a group of Jewish concentration camp prisoners who were given the task of creating undetectable forgeries of British and American money. The Nazis planned to use the fake bills to flood their enemies' markets and weaken their economies. They also realized they could use the forged money to buy real supplies for their failing military operations. The film's main character is a master forger who is in the death camp not only as a Jew, but also as a career criminal. The film does a good job of exploring the themes of the high price of survival and the prisoner's guilt over the relative luxuries they got (comfortable beds, reliable food, easy work) for their work as opposed to the rest of the prisoners. The movie is a little bit formulaic in the characters, but things did not always proceed exactly as you expected. It's definitely the type of film that will give you plenty to think over and talk about afterward.

M-SPIFF

No knitting content today. I did have my Saturday knitting group this weekend, but other than stabbing myself with the knitting needle right in the palm of my hand (those Knitpicks needles are sharp!) I really didn't accomplish that much. I finished the other twined knitting cuff, but it looks just like the first, so I won't post again. Thanks for the really nice comments, though!

I did see a couple of movies at the M-SPIFF on Friday night. First was a documentary:



This is a documentary co-directed by Steve James, who directed Hoop Dreams and Stevie and it's an incredibly powerful film. If you've seen either of those earlier films, you know James' documentary style - he illustrates a larger issue by getting intimately involved in the life of someone dealing with that issue. In this case, it's the death penalty and the main subject of the film is Carroll Pickett, a man who served as the prison chaplain at the state prison in Huntsville, TX. While Pastor Pickett was working at the prison, the death penalty was re-instated and as you may know, Texas has been doing a booming business in executions ever since. Death Row inmates are transferred to Huntsville on the day of their execution and Pastor Pickett counseled and ministered to 95 prisoners on the day of their executions, including being present for the execution. The film really focuses on Pastor Pickett as a man - fully human, with weaknesses and strengths, like us all. Interspersed with Pastor Pickett's story is the story of one of the men he counseled, Carlos Deluna. Mr. Deluna was executed in 1989 and there is a great deal of evidence which demonstrates that he was an innocent man. This is an amazing film that everyone should see, whether they are in favor, opposed or not sure about the death penalty. It will be shown on the IFC channel on 5/29 and will be released on DVD. Mr. James was present for the screening at M-SPIFF and talked a little bit about some of the special features they will include on the DVD. Pastor Pickett made a tape recording of his thoughts following every execution. We hear some of those tapes in the film, but there will be even more of those recordings on the DVD. I would highly recommend this film to anyone.

The second film I saw wasn't quite as affecting:



This was an Irish film, directed by John Boorman ("Deliverance", "The General", "The Last Tailor of Panama") and starring Brendan Gleeson as a successful Dublin land developer who suddenly is being stalked by a man who looks exactly like him. The title is a reference to the term "The Celtic Tiger" which was the name given to the period of the 90s when Ireland had a huge economic growth. Ireland went from one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the wealthiest by the end of the 90s. As a result of that, there'a a wide gap between the haves and the have nots and there's also been a huge increase in alcoholism and drug abuse. Gleeson's character gives a speech in the film where he warns to be careful when you have a tiger by the tail, because it can bite you in the arse. The political message of the film was pretty heavy handed - from that speech by the Gleeson character to the large number of people in the streets vomiting and getting high and the ongoing debate between the main character and his son, a Marxist, about the evils of capitalism. There was a section in the middle where I grew very annoyed with the film because the events occuring because of the mistaken identity between the main character and his double could have been easily solved with a few phone calls. I hate it in movies when conflict is created by people behaving as no real people really would. I liked how the film ended up, though, so by the end I had a little more fondness for the film. I liked Gleeson in both roles and I loved Ciaran Hinds in a small part as the main character's childhood friend who is now a priest. Kim Cattrall plays Gleeson's wife. She does a fairly good job, though her Irish accent comes and goes. I can't really say I'd recommend this film, but if you're interested in Irish film or have a particular fondness for Dublin, it may be worth a rental.

Mid-week post

I posted a preview for this movie a couple of weeks ago and I got to see it last night:



I loved this movie. If you saw the preview (scroll down to my March 10 post if you want to watch it), you know it's about a chorus of senior citizens who sing rock n roll songs. Like all great documentaries, this film just brings you right into these people's world and you feel like you're part of it. Seeing old people sing The Clash and Coldplay could be cutsie and cheesy, but they and the chorus' director take it so seriously and professionally that it really is wonderful. These people really connect with the words to the songs and put all of their years of living into interpreting them. I cared so much about these folks by the end, it was almost like they were my own relatives. It's hilariously funny sometimes and deeply sad others. I would recommend this film for anyone. And, I have a pass for two free tickets to the next sneak preview on Thursday, 4/24 at the Edina Theater. If anyone would like the pass, let me know. The film opens it regular release next Saturday, 4/26.

It's also being shown as part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF)this Saturday at 5:30 at the St. Anthony Main theater. The MSPIFF is also showing some of the foreign films I've reviewed here over the last couple of months that I saw through Talk Cinema. In particular, Roman de Gare, And Along Came Tourists, and Yella. So, if any of those interest you, you don't have to try to find a DVD, you can see them at the Film Fest. The MSPIFF starts today, so expect to see reviews of some more obscure films again over next couple of weeks.

I do have some knitting related news, too - I got some new yarn in the mail:



This is a sock yarn from C*eye*ber Fibers called "Yes We Can". It's dyed in the lovely blues and reds of the Obama logo with some lovely purple, probably to show how Barack is building a bridge between the "reds" and the "blues". And best of all, $15 from the sale of each skein of yarn goes to the Obama campaign. I love it!

Weekend Update

Saturday was Talk Cinema and we got to see this film:



This is the kind of movie that you benefit from going in cold without knowing too much about it and figuring it out for yourself, so I'm not going to say too much. I'll just say that I liked it. Richard Roeper calls movies that have sort of interesting structure or twist endings "puzzle movies" and this would fit into that category. It's the kind of movie that you can talk about on a lot of different levels afterward - I love when a movie can bring up big philosophical issues as well as filmmaking and "taste" issues and you can really talk about it. If I still was in a movie club, this is the kind of movie I would choose to watch and then sit and talk about afterward. We had a good discussion led by a film critic from out east, but a small group where you could really talk about your thought and opinions about life would be even better.

After Talk Cinema, my friend and I had our monthly beading afternoon. I ended up just making one necklace and one pair of earrings because this necklace was very time consuming:



I really like how it turned out, though. The earrings were a little easier, but it was hard to work with the delicate chain - sorry about the poor photo quality:



In every picture I took, the camera focused on my hair, not the earring. I could have posted a lovely picture of my hair, but that's not what I wanted.

I also got the latest installment of the Amazing Threads sock club:



I should probably cancel my subscription for that, because I don't need any more sock yarn and I really only LOVE about half the selections, but now that it's only every other month, it's kind of fun to get and not that expensive. I'm going to wait until the May selection comes and re-evaluate then.

Time Flies

I've definitely been having fun, but I didn't mean to once again go so long between posts. I'll get this figured out eventually. I've managed to make time to see a few movies, so I'll start there. The first one I saw was this:



That's a pretty lame, boring name for a pretty good film. It's based on a true story about a group of petty criminals who rent out a handbag shop in early 70's London so that they can dig under the shop next door and into a bank vault. They're in it for the cash, but they've been manipulated by MI-5 to do the job because they want some naughty pictures of Princess Margaret that are being used by a radical black power leader to blackmail the government. The film is pretty fast moving and keeps you interested and following along through the whole thing. I had never seen a Jason Statham movie before and I really liked him. He's got a great screen presence and hopefully he'll get more interesting parts like this and not just the pure adrenalized action he's been doing. I'd recommend this for people who enjoy heist flicks and just want a fun, easy afternoon at the movies.

I can't recommend the next film I saw, luckily for free:



It was really just a mess. Charlize Theron stars and produced the film. She plays a down on her luck mother who seems to have gone through a string of bad relationships and has a strained relationship with her 13 year old daughter. After her latest boyfriend is thrown in jail for growing large amounts of marijuana on his property, she and her daughter move in with her younger brother, played by Nick Stahl. Theron's character hits the road with some plan in mind and leaves her daughter behind with her brother, who starts to try to take care of her, although he has a tough enough time caring for himself. I liked the performances of all of these actors, but the story was really disjointed. They threw in every indie film cliche you can think of and it just didn't flow very well. There was also a dream-like sequence at a swimming pool that seemed completely out of synch with the rest of the film. If you're really interested in film acting, maybe check it out, but otherwise I'd say don't waste your time.

The last film I saw was:



The film is set in 1930s London and has the feel of the screwball comedies of the era, especially at the beginning. Amy Adams plays an American actress, who goes by Delysia Lafosse, trying to hit the big time by sleeping with a hot young director, living in the apartment of the owner of the club where she sings and romancing her piano player. Frances McDormand plays an out of work nanny, Miss Pettigrew, who manages to work her way into Delysia's life and serve as her social secretary. As you can imagine with all those relationships to juggle, Miss Pettigrew has her work cut out for her with plenty of door slamming and fast talking and the sort of hijinx you saw in Screwball Comedies. Miss Pettigrew is utterly capable, though, and as the film goes on, you start to see the real people behind the overacted facade. Everything is wrapped up a little too nicely, as is the tradition, but I found it satisfying. I was thrilled to see Ciaran Hinds in a romantic lead role, as a lingerie designer who has an interest in Miss Pettigrew. If you're a fan of the old 30s comedies or just romantic comedies in general, this is worth a look.

Besides movies, I also saw this guy:



It was an amazing show. Probably my favorite of all of the Springsteen shows I've seen. He had an incredible energy and seemed really in synch with the rest of the band. The guy is amazing. Here's the set list, if you're interested:

1. Night
2. Radio Nowhere
3. Lonesome Day
4. Darkness on the Edge of Town
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Magic
7. Reason to Believe
8. Prove It All Night
9. She’s the One
10. Livin’ in the Future
11. Promised Land
12. Waitin on a Sunny Day
13. Backstreets
14. Devil’s Arcade
15. The Rising
16. Last to Die
17. Long Walk Home
18 Badlands

ENCORE
19. Girls in their Summer Clothes
20. Jungleland
21. Born to Run
22. Dancing in the Dark
23. American Land

It was fun to close the show with "American Land" on the day before St. Patrick's Day.

I guess I'll cover the knitting world in my next post. I'm hopelessly behind in the ABC-Along postings, too.

More movies

I know this blog has become all movies, all the time, but I promise there will be knitting content. I've recently been knitting something I don't want to blog about, so that puts a crimp in things. But I also have started a new pair of socks and I'm almost done with Jessica's hoodie, so I do have some blog fodder some day. In the mean time, I saw some movies this weekend:



Be Kind, Rewind is directed by Michel Gondry and stars Mos Def as a video store clerk, Mike, and Jack Black as his best friend, Jerry. The video store is owned by Mr. Fletcher, played by Danny Glover. The video store is in trouble, so Mr. Fletcher pretends to leave town for a few days while he actually scopes out the fancy chain store in town - you know, the one that actually has DVDs instead of video tapes. He leaves Mike in charge of the store and while he's gone, Jerry comes in and erases all of the tapes after he's become magnetized while trying to sabotage the power plant he lives next to. The guys decide to re-enact some of the videos so the customers can still watch the movies and maybe Mr. Fletcher won't find out they screwed up. Their movies catch on and become very popular.

I must be the target audience for Michel Gondry because I find his films charming and amusing (he previously directed The Science of Sleep and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). The set up is completely improbable, the world the characters live in is unrecognizable as reality and the ending is totally cheesy, but darn it, I just enjoyed myself so much watching this film. I loved the characters and wanted things to turn out well for them and I loved their movies. So, I guess if you like something kind of off-beat and different, check it out. Especially if you love movies and feel a personal connection to them.

This weekend was also a Talk Cinema weekend and the film was a French mystery/love story:



In English this is being marketed as either "Crossed Tracks" or simply "Tracks." I'm not sure if this will get much of a release state-side so I won't go into any great detail. As I mentioned there's a murder mystery and a love story and it was pretty engaging, but I doubt it'll stay with me for long.

I had the great pleasure of seeing this, too:



U2 is one of my favorite bands and this was definitely a must see for everyone else who loves them. It was filmed in South America during the last tour and really envelopes you with the 3D process. The visuals are amazing and you feel like you're really in the crowd. The digital sound is also fantastic. I just loved Adam Clayton's bass and the Edge's guitar in New Year's Eve and Where the Streets Have No Name. They also did a pairing of Sunday, Bloody Sunday and Bullet the Blue Sky, which I've seen them do in concert before, but am thrilled to see again. Two great songs which go so great together. The film is strictly concert footage - there's no interviews or behind the scenes stuff. The 3D effects are almost all just to make you feel like you're actually at a concert, though there is one part where Bono reaches toward you as if to touch you and there are a couple of visuals that float in front of you - mostly words. This film is not being planned to be released on home video, so instead of drinking green beer to celebrate St. Paddy's Day, why not go see Ireland's favorite sons?

To bring knitting back into the blog a little bit, I will post this great poster I saw at the Edina:



I saw a preview for this documentary a few weeks ago and it looks great. Here's a preview:

Best of 2007

It was a good year for film, so it was hard to choose the Top Ten. Here are my favorite movies of 2007:

1. Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2. Into the Wild
3. Once
4. King of Kong
5. Lars & The Real Girl
6. Taxi to the Dark Side
7. The Savages
8. Sweeney Todd
9. Sicko
10. Gone Baby Gone

Yeah, none of my Top Ten were nominated for the Academy Awards this year. In 2005 my top five were the five nominees. That was really rare, but it's also really rare that none of my favorites are nominated. I actually really liked all the nominated films this year, but they just didn't grab a hold of me like these did. I should say none of them were nominated for Best Picture, because Taxi to the Dark Side actually won the Best Documentary Oscar.

On July 1 I did a top five of my favorite movies so far and it was a light and funny bunch, with Once at the top. I predicted that more dramatic films would make it on my top ten and oh boy, did they. Diving Bell and Into the Wild edged out Once for the top spot on my final list and they were both really emotional for me.

This year I intermixed the documentaries and fiction films because I didn't see as many documentaries this year as I had in years past - I think the big bounty of documentaries has passed again - or maybe I just wasn't as good about seeing them when I wanted to. In any case, I had three documentaries on my list and if I slid those off, I probably would have added Rescue Dawn, Knocked Up and Michael Clayton. I also really liked another documentary this year, My Kid Could Paint that. I haven't seen No End in Sight yet, though.

So, that's the list for this year. I highly, highly recommend all of the films I listed and pretty much all of them are available on DVD if you want to add them to your Netflix list.

In other fun and exciting news, I got a great package in the mail! My Special Swap partner this time was Kat and she sent me an outstanding parcel. Our theme this go around was A Day at the Spa. Everything arrived in this pretty box:



I opened it up and found a pretty card and these pretty little surprises:



Soothing blues and greens, I'm already relaxing! But when I opened those little packages up I found some pretty great stuff:



Kat was way too generous!! Starting from the right, there's a hand-knit beautiful blue and green facecloth - gorgeous and soft. Next in the back is a really fragant candle - I can't wait to try that out. It smells fantastic. Beside the candle is a bag of chocolate/white chocolate squares. I couldn't wait to try those out - they are delicious!!! In front of and beside that are two big packages of Burt's Bees products. LOVE the Burt's Bees (luckily Kat does too, because I sent her some too). There a little something to soothe every part of my incredibly dry hands, feets, face and body (come soon spring!) Next to that is the best relaxation of all, knitting! Kat included a bunch of really fun accessories and a gorgeous skein of yarn and scarf pattern from Knitspot. You want to see that yarn close up, don't you?



As you can see on the tag, it's Arequipa from Ball and Skein - an alpaca/silk blend (two of my favorite fibers!!) It's a gorgeous colorway called storm - purple and gray and black, beautiful, beautiful! Thank you so much for the fantastic package, Kat. I'm really looking forward to continuing our friendship and of course using this stuff up!!

Movie Update

Since I haven't blogged regularly lately, I have a few movies to review. I get a mixed reaction to the movie reviews. Some people really like them and some people just want knitting content. If you fall into the latter category, move on - just movies today.

I finally saw this film:



I liked it, but I didn't love it. There's been a lot of comparisons this week between Blood and No Country and my reaction to both was similar. Really well done, great filmmaking, but kind of left me cold, so not my favorite movies of the year. Blood is about an oilman played by Daniel Day Lewis. The film opens with DDL mining for silver and is completely dialog free. It's beautiful filmmaking and really sets up who this character is and what he's about. During his mining he finds oil and becomes a very successful oilman. One day he's given a tip about some oil rich land that can be had for cheap by a young man played by Paul Dano. DDL goes to this land and buys oil leases and develops the oil fields. He meets the brother of the man who gave him the tip, also played by Paul Dano. This man is an ambitious preacher and there's a lifelong animosity between Dano's character and DDL character. So the film is about oil and greed and ambition and religion and family. There were times I struggled to stay with the film, because it has a very slow, deliberate pace and it's a pretty long film. Those are two things that usually don't bother me a bit, but maybe because it was a Friday evening or just the film itself, I had a tough time this time. I would recommend it, though.

Shorter and much easier to follow was this:



This is a family film about two twin boys and their older sister who move into their family's ancestoral home with their mom when their father leaves the family. The house had been occupied by their great aunt before she was finally committed to an insane asylum. See, she thought that fairies had stolen her father. Turns out, the old lady was on to something. Her father, Arthur Spiderwick, played by one of my favorite actors, David Strathairn, had written down everything he had learned about the secret world of fairies which is all around us, but we just don't see. The fairies, goblings and other spirits are animated and the CGI and real world look really good together in this film. The twins are played by Freddie Highmore, who does a good job distinguishing the two brothers. I was a little troubled by how poorly the dads come off in this film, but overall I thought it was a fun film and the kids all really liked it (age 6 to 12).

Even shorter and easier to understand was the last movie I saw:



Yes, another Will Ferrell comedy, this time about an ABA league basketball team, the Flint Tropics. If you giggle at the idea of a team in Flint, MI called the Tropics, you'll enjoy this silly film. This is not one of the great Will Ferrell movies, but it's funny enough. I agree with Robert Wilonsky, who called it "comedy comfort food." There's a lot of gags about the 70s and sports and Will Ferrell's typically enthusiastic but kinda dumb character. But there's also the cliched sports movie storyline about the grizzled old vet who needs to find his love for the game again for one last run at glory - this time the grizzled old vet is played by Woody Harrelson. There actually are a couple of black guys on the team too, including Andre Benjamin as the star of the team, looking to make it to the NBA even if his team doesn't make it through the ABA/NBA merger that is looming. Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 of OutKast) really looks like a baller - who knew he was so sexy? There are a number of characters who are really funny and although the movie as a whole isn't fantastic, I'd still recommend it for a fun matinee when you need a laugh. I also have to mention the soundtrack. As a huge fan of 70s soul, I enjoyed the film just for the great music. It may have been set in Flint, but the music is pure Motown.

OK, that brings me up to date. There are a couple of other films I wanted to see from 2007, but I think I've seen all the essentials. Next time I'll post my list of my Top Ten of 2007. It was a really good year and it'll be hard to limit it to just 10.

Packed with Fun

What a great week last week was. I mentioned in my last post how great the Obama rally was. Afterwards, we tried the new Japanese place downtown, Musashi. I thought it was good, but not great. They have a really large menu, with lots of different things, so it would be a great place to with a big group. I had a bento box, which included soup and salad, an appetizer, teriyaki chicken, a sushi roll and tempura chicken. The serving size was very generous too. So, it was a good value. My brother got a sushi platter, which was really beautifully presented. I enjoyed everything, but if I'm downtown and I'm choosing, I'd prefer Nami or Origami. It's definitely worth a trip if you are with a group, want a good portion size or the location is ideal for other plans.

Last Sunday was of course the Super Bowl. And what a game. We really had fun. We watched at Buffalo Wild Wings and I won the grand prize drawing, too. Unfortunately, it wasn't a big screen tv or a trip to the Pro Bowl. It was just a MGD lighted sign. I never win anything, though, so I was excited just to hear my name called.

Then of course we had the caucuses on Tuesday. Another amazing night. I could not believe how crazy it was. I've caucused probably a half dozen times or so and I've never seen so many people before. Long backup on the roads getting there, huge lines to get in the door. I really feel like people are hungry for change and hungry to play a part in that change. Awesome! Let's just hope it doesn't revert to politics as usual by November.

I saw a few movies over the last week, too. I saw a documentary that is nominated for the Academy Awards:



This is really a remarkable film, but boy it was sometimes hard to watch. It's about the U.S. policy on torture. It starts with a taxi driver in Afghanistan who is turned into the US military as being suspected of driving for some rebels who shot at a military post. While he was in custody he was beaten to death. Turns out he was completely innocent and the people who turned him in were the ones who shot at the military post. Ooops. The same people who ran the prison in Afghanistan were sent to Abu Graib and I think everyone's pretty aware of what happened there. A lot of the ideas of how to "interrogate" terror suspects at Abu Graib originated from policies at Guantanamo Bay. It's so embarrassing and depressing to know that my government is doing this. The director of the film also directed "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room". If you saw that film, you know his style. You're never in doubt as to what his viewpoint is, but he presents it in a very calm, rational way, giving the other side the opportunity to make their case. The author of the famous "Torture Memo", John Yoo is interviewed pretty extensively about why torture is legal and why the Geneva Convention doesn't apply to "enemy combatants". There are also a number of interviews with the soldiers who worked at the prison in Afghanistan and at Abu Graib. They're really open and honest and the message is clear that this is not just "a few bad apples", but a policy instituted at the highest levels (see Vice President, Secretary of Defense and Attorney General). I would highly recommend this film, but be prepared for it.

Not quite as impressive was:



Diane Lane plays an FBI agent who specializes in computer crime. She mostly tracks down identity theft and copyright piracy. But she gets a tip about a website where a kitten is killed (I know, it's horrible). So she ends up heading an investigation into this website where the killer moves on to people and the more people that log onto the site, the faster the person is killed. It's a pretty gross concept and the torture is not entertaining. I was almost drawn in by the thriller/mystery aspect and Diane Lane's great performance, but then in the last act, it turned incredibly stupid and the very last shot is just corny as hell, so I can't recommend this.

Talk Cinema this week featured another foreign film, this time from Beirut, Lebanon:



Sweet movie about the lives of a group of women living in Beirut. Sort of an artsy version of a chick flick, but I really enjoyed it. You got to see a little bit about what life is like for women living in Beirut, but it was really subtle. The lead actress also wrote and directed the film and she didn't hit you over the head with the messages. The actresses were just gorgeous too.

I'll save the rest of my week for another post. I did actually do some knitting and I got a fantastic gift in the mail.

A is for Aran Afghan

I'm a little bit late getting started, but I did sign up for the ABC Along this year. As I said,

A is for Aran Afghan



As you may recognize, this is the Great American Aran Afghan from Knitter's magazine. I chose this for A because Aran knitting is my favorite. Cables are my favorite technique - a little bit of challenge to follow the chart, but not super hard to do. I also just love a nice Aran sweater. I'm half Irish, so I think part of it is just my attraction to all things Irish. I sort of got stuck on this project because I ran out of the yarn I originally bought for it (Berella Muskoka, which is now discontinued). I've tried to buy more on eBay over the last few years, but this color just never comes up. I've picked up a few other skeins of natural colored worsted weights and I'll probably just mix the rest of the squares in those yarns around with these and hope it all blends together well enough. Maybe I'll take this up again one of these days!

I did get some other yarn this weekend - my sock yarn club selection for January from Amazing Threads.



As you can see, it's Lang JaWoll Color Aktion. I haven't knit with this yarn before, but I've heard great things about it.

I also had Talk Cinema this weekend and saw an Israeli film:



This is a really charming film. It's about an Egyptian police band that goes to Israel to play in a cultural center and ends up in the wrong town. They get off the bus and find themselves in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, with no more buses for another day. They meet a woman and two men sitting in a cafe and the Israelis sort of take them in for the night. This could be a set up for a really cutesy, corny film, but the first-time director does a really great job of showing these people from very different cultures learning that they have far more in common than they do different. It's really a hopeful film about the future of the middle east, but also rather sad. I just loved it. I would really recommend it - it'll be playing at a Landmark Theater locally next month if you're interested. Quite a bit of the film is in English because that's the language both "sides" know and can communicate in, if you don't care for reading sub-titles. In fact, Israel submitted it to the Academy Awards for best Foreign Language Film, but it was disqualified because too much of it is in English. It did win the equivalent of the Oscar in Israel and has been a big hit on the film festival circuit.