Favorite Living Directors

Ok so... I did the authors, now the directors...

Rules:
- I must have seen at least three of their films
- They must be living (film is a relatively recent art, so this won't be difficult)
- Pick out my one favorite movie of their's
- attempt to choose some directors other than the really, really obvious ones

Okay, now in no particular order:

Martin Scorsese 

The Departed

Okay, he is an obvious one, and at least the next two will be also, but so what? He is great. Choosing my favorite one film of his was very difficult though. The Departed stuck out because it puts together all of the great elements of Scorsese films in one film. The incredible mob dialogue, the cast of fantastic actors playing fantastic roles. The complicated, and intriguing plot that has so many twists and turns, but they are all directed with such crispness that you never get tangled up, you get drawn in.

Movies by Scorsese I have seen: The Departed, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island

Quentin Tarantino

Pulp Fiction

My favorite movie of all time is Pulp Fiction. I know a lot of the dialogue by heart, and I am still captivated by it every time I see it. The twist contest in Jack Rabbit Slim's may be my favorite scene. It takes the audience into a wonderfully imagined strange world inside of a wonderfully imagined strange world. The criminals are so smart and interesting, but real at the same time. There is comic genius in the midst of gruesome elements. Tarantino's films are all filled with many elements from varying styles all across the history of film, and he meshes them together into original films that enchant.

Movies by Tarantino I have seen: Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol. 1& 2, Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, Inglourious Basterds 

Coen Brothers (Joel & Ethan)

No Country for Old Men

There would be a very serious debate between film experts about who writes better dialogue, the Coen brothers, or Tarantino. Their films echo traditional values and great characters to create wonderful films. No Country for Old Men is based on a novel by the same name by Cormac McCarthy, probably my favorite author. The film somehow does great justice to a fine novel. That is enough to be labeled as my favorite film of their repertoire. Anton Chigurh is played ruthlessly by Javier Bardem, a feat in itself. Ahhh it is so awesome.

Movies by the Coen brothers I have seen: True Grit, Burn After Reading, No Country for Old Men, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona

I guess I'll have to...

Steven Spielberg

Saving Private Ryan

Sorry, I had to. What can I say, the guy is a genius. Saving Private Ryan is definitely my favorite of his. The Normandy invasion, the opening scene? How did he pull it off? It might be the best battle scene EVER in any movie. I won't go on about him, what's the point? Everyone has already said what I would say. 

Movies by The Spielberg I have seen: Saving Private Ryan, Indiana Jones (All 4), War of the Worlds, Munich, The Terminal, Catch Me if You Can, Minority Report, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Hook, E.T., Jaws

Christopher Nolan

Memento

He's pretty damn good. Memento is impossible, yet it works, and he completely revamped the Batman series. He introduced actual evil into the world of super heroes. His settings are usually darker cityscapes that haunt and involve the characters in unique ways. Also the only director with which I have seen all of their work, and I loved every single film of his, that's rare.

Movies by Nolan that I have seen: Memento, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Prestige, Following, Insomnia

Okay so I guess they were all very generic, but here are a few that aren't as generic that will soon be on the list.

Soon to be on the list (after I watch one more of their films):

Alfonso Cuaron

Children of Men

Terrence Malick

The New World

Guillermo del Toro

Pan's Labyrinth 

Gus Van Sant

Good Will Hunting

Danny Boyle

28 Days Later

David Cronenberg

Eastern Promises

David Fincher

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I guess I need to get out there and watch a few more films. Legally. These guys deserve it.

UPDATE


I am now adding Alfonso Cuaron to the list, just saw Y Tu Mama Tambien, it was great.

Favorite Living Authors

I am really on a roll today, blogging-wise. I have made a list of my favorite living authors (in no particular order) along with my two favorite works written by them (again, NPO). My rule is that I must have read at least two of their works in order to include them on the list.

Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian, The Crossing (also, All the Pretty Horses, Suttree, and The Road.)

McCarthy is a master of prose, and probably my favorite on this list, if I had to pick one. If you haven't read him, do it before Jesus comes back. You will not regret it.

Tim O'Brien

The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods

An extremely talented writer, he captures an understanding of war that is as closely relatable to a non-soldier audience as possible. After reading his work, I feel as if I can relate to Vietnam veterans, even though I know I never will. His writing is so fluid and hypnotizing.

Nick Hornby

About A Boy, High Fidelity

British, witty, and wonderfully accurate is a way I would describe his style. He gives his characters (Hauntingly real people) quirks and characteristics that makes you believe every word he writes.

Kevin Brockmeier

Things That Fall from the Sky

Okay, technically I have read multiple works by Brockmeier, I never specified novels. If I could write like any writer, it would be one half McCarthy, and the other half Brockmeier. His stories are so enchanting and wonderfully imaginative. Details are spot on, and settings are awesome.

Writers who narrowly missed the cut (as in just died, or are victims to my lack of reading):

Brian Jacques (Died Feb. 5, 2011)

Redwall, Mossflower, The Outcast of Redwall

I grew up in his fantasy world of mice, squirrels, badgers, ferrets, stoats, and otters.

Martin Amis

Time's Arrow

I sincerely plan on reading another Martin Amis novel, all I hear are good things. Time's Arrow is one of my favorites

Kurt Vonnegut (Died April 11, 2007, and I only read one)

Slaughterhouse-Five

I feel like a literary wimp when I say I have only read Slaughterhouse-Five. But, it was great.

David Mitchell

Black Swan Green

I plan on reading Cloud Atlas sometime in my life, Black Swan Green was terrific.

In making this list, I realized just how horribly under-read I am. I really am embarrassed.

Furious Domination

You like the title? Kind of intense right?


Today a lady who is an ex-CIA agent spoke to our class, she was crazy. Here is my drawing of my viewpoint of class:

The raccoon came back again last night, there was no trash in my can, but he tipped it over anyways. A**hole. 


Oh yeah, my future roommate for Jordan got engaged two days ago, I am really happy for him. He is happy too. Okay, I am in class again, acting as if I am typing notes. This includes glancing up periodically at the professor and the PowerPoint presentation. 


I wrote a poem today:
    
          "Cans of Soup"
               by: Edmondson Wright
     
     "If I lived by the sea,"
      She used to say.
     "I would feel so free,"
      She would bray.


     "The sun would be so bright,"
      Then she'd turn around.
     "And we'd have ourselves a fight,"
      Only, with a frown.


     "Why do we brawl?"
      I always shrugged.
     "And why didn't you call,"
      She'd tear up.


     "And then you had to die,"
      Well that wasn't a lie.
     "I can't even phone,"
      She is now alone.


     "I picked these today,"
      She'd lay the flowers on the grave.
     "I'm seeing someone new,"
      What could I do?


Sad huh?

Photos from the Middle East that I rather like

Here are some of the photos I took in Oman/UAE that I do like:

okay, back to class

Raccoons and Rapture

The raccoon came back last night. I heard him knock over my trash can at three a.m. and I grabbed my slingshot. Hit him with a quarter. He came back at 3:15. I missed him with a large stone. Long story short, I failed to kill him once again, and I missed my class because of the lack of sleep from those antics. 


Score board:
Raccoon 13
Ed 1 (I caught him in a snare, but a neighbor let him go, that's one in my book)

Now, how about that rapture that is going to happen? May 21, 2011 according to an 'expert' who is a Christian and an engineer. He has calculated the ending of the world, and the rapture to be on Saturday, two days from now. Do I think he is right?


No, but I really hope he is. Well, I know he has to be wrong because for Jesus to come back on May 21 would give this guy glory. Now, I say that, but really how much glory can this guy receive in comparison to our Lord coming out of the sky in fire? And of course scripture explicitly says that no man knows the day or hour, only God.  Even if he is right. If I knew for sure that I was going to be running into my savior's arms on Saturday, I would not be sleeping, I would be spreading the gospel to everyone I possibly could. That is convicting, why am I not doing that now anyways? Is that not how we are called to live our lives? Except maybe with a little more sleep. I suck as a follower of Christ. 

In Class

The last post was made during class, and this one is too.


His 382 (The Cold War) is the class I am currently in. May Intercession at The University of Mississippi. 8:30-12 every day. Professor is Eastern European. Need I say more? 


Let's see, oh yeah after class yesterday I set up fishing line snares to try and capture the raccoons who ravage my trash periodically. The fishing line is 50 pound strength line that I tied to the columns on our front porch. I tied it into a wide loop held open by a simple slip knot. The loop was held off the ground by sticks. Tied to the loop was an aluminum can filled with rocks as an alarm system. Well I watched The Strangers with some friends last night, not the best idea but exhaustion overcame fear, and I came home to a tripped wire. The can was sitting upright on the porch, so a human must have placed it there. The line was cut with a knife, you could tell from where the cut was made. My guess? A neighbor's cat tripped it and was stuck in the snare. Oops.

I know I would be upset if the same happened to my cat in Tuscaloosa, Chip (pictured above), so I can not help but feel for this cat lover whoever they may be.


What's the news for this afternoon? 


Farm labor baby. Like this one I visited last spring:

Lately

So, I have been in Oxford for May intercession, and I am truly bored. Jesus has provided some boredom relief with great fellowship lately, but now most of those people are gone. So, I have been struggling with sluggarddom and empty-house-syndrom. Besides getting really deep into God's word, I have also been stockpiling my Netflix queues with quality films. Also, I have been writing some stories, always working on getting published. (As a note, I originally started this blog to share my stories with the world, but upon further instruction from a writing mentor I took the stories off for publishing's sake.) 


I am preparing for my trip to Jordan this summer, which should be either really awesome, or extremely boring. Arabic, as always, is very difficult and headache-inducing. 

أنا ممل مع حايتي في أكسفورد ألآن. 

(Even that didn't come out right)

I recently compiled my favorite recently made Westerns. I guess I'll share that.

(In no particular order)

The Proposition (2005) Rottentomatoes: 87% Roger Ebert: 4/4 stars

Uniquely in the Australian outback, this gritty, dark epic follows an outlaw who must turn in his own brother, a worse outlaw, to save his life.

True Grit (2010) Rottentomatoes: 96% Roger Ebert: 3.5/4 stars

Coen brothers' remake of the John Wayne classic. Matt Damon was in great form here, and I believe Jeff Bridges's form of Rooster Cogburn is much superior to John Wayne's version. The movie itself has a strange and epic feel. 

No Country for Old Men (2007) Rottentomatoes: 95% Roger Ebert: 4/4

The Coen brothers yet again make a masterpiece that is based almost exactly on the book of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, my favorite writer. This fantastically violent adaptation of the novel is incredible and possibly my favorite on this list.

3:10 to Yuma (2007) Rottentomatoes: 88% Roger Ebert: 4/4

The only way I can describe this film is just as "fun". It has many traditional Western values, a cutthroat, wise villain, a honorable hero, and an impossible goal. It's acting is well done and this is another remake, but a good one.

There Will Be Blood (2007) Rottentomatoes: 91% Roger Ebert: 3.5/4

One of my favorite actors, Daniel Day Lewis, is enthralling in this oil epic. Perhaps my favorite theme of the movie is the West as a place full of superstition and the religious extremists that were jaded and crazed by the barren landscape.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) Rottentomatoes: 75% Roger Ebert: 3.5/4

2007 was a great year for modern Westerns, and this is another one. It was not as well received as the others, but this film is epic and stands firm in the slow pace of the West. The wide-open spaces give the film an epic feel as well. Superb acting by Casey Affleck.