Monadology In search of the unifying principle. Leibniz This guy is being sucked up a glass tube. This guy is being sucked up a glass tube. This guy is being sucked up a glass tube. This guy is being sucked up a glass tube. This guy is being sucked up a glass tube. This guy is being sucked up a glass tube.

Rocky; 300?; Children of Men?

December 18, 2006

by Nate

I still may get around to that Apocalypto review, but I’m going to make Unforgiven higher priority, since G asked me and I am continuing to fail him in providing an explanation of why I think it’s such an outstanding and important movie. In the mean-time, anyone that has not done so should simply read Michael Sullivan’s comments in the entry before this one for a good explanation as to why the many complaints about Apocalypto’s violence should be resolutely ignored. Also, anyone who makes time to see 300 (The Battle of Thermopylae and Frank Miller?) should similarly make time to let me know whether I should see it, and whether I should be excited about it. The same goes for Children of Men, about which I am more cautious.

I watched Rocky on Saturday night with HB and MTB—I had last seen it when I was seventeen and remembered being quite impressed. The intervening years of cinematic education made it possible, this time, to be utterly blown away. I’ll borrow HB’s exact words in calling it nothing short of “a superb movie”. Anyone who has not seen the great film that kicked off the fun but totally different Rocky franchise should make time to do so. Promptly.

I took Katherine to the metro on my new-and-improved BMW this morning, which is new-and-improved because I made it very quickly substantially less improved over a week ago when I lost it in a turn and crashed it into a median. I was fine (three cheers for protective gear!), the bike is now fine, and I’ve passed an important milestone. Meanwhile, Katherine and I had a great discussion (the greatness of which was due predominantly to her) about religion, I played badminton on Saturday AND Sunday, and actually managed to beat HB on both occasions, despite his unquestionable superiority on the back court.

All in all, life is good, and the only real problems are that I particularly miss having more chances to spend time with my friends-with-children (the Woods and the Sullivans) and that Paul Haggis continues to enjoy great success as a screenwriter, when if the world were just, he’d have been run out of town on a rail years ago.

Comments

On December 18 at 9'10 PMPermalink, hb wrote:

1

Man, I couldn’t remember whether we’d played a second game on Sunday (it all ran together). I’ll get you next time. Also, every other Monadologist, badminton is the most fun you can have with three friends and a (shuttle)cock.

On December 19 at 8'59 AMPermalink, Nate wrote:

2

No, we did not in fact play a second game on Sunday, so that win was not as official as Saturday’s.

And, yes, I’m sure you will—if one views a player as having a swinging pendulum of effective gameplay, yours still swings to the most skillful degree; at your best, you can beat me at my best. I am, of course, working as hard as I can to correct this. But I am at least comforted that you have to be playing near your best to take me down.

On March 12 at 12'03 AMPermalink, Amanda wrote:

3

It took me a minute to find this old post. I tend to trust my friend Kevin’s opinion on 300 because I have seen more than a few bad movies with him that we enjoyed for their kitchy stupidity. Clearly he found nothing to enjoy in this film: http://jorin.livejournal.com/23854.html

It has been some time since I saw Children of Men with my folks over the winter break, and I still don’t know whether it was a decent movie or rather awful. I would not recommend it.