Awww

I saw this picture on People magazine's website of Jennifer Hudson with her newborn child. My first reaction should have been, "Oh how cute." But instead it was, "Wow that is some serious boob spillage!"

Latin American Film Festival

Eagan and I attended some screenings of this year's AFI Latin American Film Festival. We really enjoyed all the movies we saw. I'm listing all the movies we saw as a way for me to remember the films, as well as to let you know about some great Latin American films to keep your eye out for.

[Movie summaries are from the film festival's website]

Lion's Den (Leonera)

[Argentina]

Julia wakes and prepares for work after a drink- and drug-fueled bender, barely noticing a man's motionless body in her apartment. Later tried and sent to prison for the man's murder, she soon discovers she is pregnant, and she gives birth to and raises a son in the prison's mother's ward over the next several years. A closely observed and constantly surprising film from accomplished director Pablo Trapero, anchored by the riveting performance of lead actress and producer Martina Gusman as Julia.

I thought it was a great story. It was interesting to see the dynamic and community of this mother's ward in the prison. It was very well-acted. The main actress, Martina Gusman did an amazing job. She gives an extremely committed and emotional performance. I give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Lovely Loneliness (Amorosa Soledad)

[Argentina]

This quirky comedy from debut directors Martin Carranza and Victoria Galardi features a winsome and winning performance by rising talent Ines Efron. Twenty-something Soledad (Efron) has recently broken up with her boyfriend and doesn't want another one for at least a couple of years. A hypochondriac, she seems happiest seeking treatment for her latest imagined illness and shopping in pharmacies. But a chance meeting in a cafe with a new suitor may draw Soledad out of herself and into a new adventure.

I thought it was a really cute movie. And Soledad was an adorable, quirky character (wonderfully acted by Ines Efron). Not a whole lot actually happens in this movie (it's not very fast-paced), but I still really enjoyed it. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

That's It (Apenas O Fim)

[Brazil]

In this inventive romantic comedy by writer-director Matheus Souza, a young woman breaks up with her boyfriend and plans to leave town for good, but agrees to meet the man she's dumping for one final conversation before she leaves. This quirky and affecting first feature, which draws favorable comparison to the American indie "mumblecore" subgenre, was shot on the campus of Rio University, where nearly the entire cast and crew were film students at the time of production.

This movie was definitely inspired by Before Sunrise/Before Sunset. The whole movie is a string of conversations. And I loved it. The two main actors did a great job. It almost seems like a documentary -- it seemed so real and genuine. You feel like such a (fortunate) voyeur hearing them talk about their lives and their relationship -- from serious stuff like what they love/hate about each other; to silly stuff like what boy band is better Backstreet Boys or Nsync, and which Power Ranger would you want to be, and other pop culture conversations. Some of the conversations were scripted, some were improvised by the actors. It's an impressive movie considering it's made by film students, made for $4,000, and shot entirely on the Rio University campus. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

The Good Life (La Buena Vida)

[Chile]

The latest film from Chilean director Andres Wood follows a cross-section of Santiagans as they struggle for fulfillment in their lives. A hard-working social worker (Aline Kuppenheim) who educates prostitutes about safe sex discovers her teenager daughter (Manuela Martelli) has become pregnant. A salon owner (Roberto Farias) and the loan officer (Manuela Oyarzun) from his bank begin a promising romance, but discover that work and pleasure, as well as family, often do not mix. An aspiring clarinetist (Eduardo Paxeco) comes up short in his orchestra audition and settles for a gig with the army band. The criss-crossing narrative strands weave a portrait of modern life in the big city, where, despite the multitudes, loneliness and isolation are always present.

Interesting storylines (which were based on true stories) and great acting. It's interesting seeing how these different characters cross paths. The movie touched on a lot of social issues; though, in a more subtle way. The movie (the writing, acting, and filming) does a great job portraying loneliness and isolation, and other issues people struggle with. As it does such a great job portraying these themes, no doubt, it is a depressing movie. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Oblivion (El Olvido)

[Peru]

A native of Lima, documentarian Heddy Honigmann returns to her hometown to explore the effects of years of political turmoil on the city's working class. Interviewing service workers and street performers, Honigmann draws out her subjects with simple questions -- "Do you have dreams?" -- that allow for full, moving portraits of lives struggling against circumstance. Lyrical, humanist and deeply empathetic, the film is both a damning critique of the destruction caused by official corruption and a moving tribute to the resiliency of those left behind.

This is a really fascinating documentary and is filmed beautifully. Heddy finds so many interesting people, that are often ignored and not given a platform, and gives them an opportunity to talk about their life and what they struggle with and what they love. There's a great cross-section of people that she interviews. It's really interesting hearing these people's life stories and where they live. It also breaks your heart to see people live in such poverty and how they struggle to make a living. I also found the discussion of Peru's political system/political leaders to be interesting. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

Things To Do: Book Readings

A bunch of different bookstores in the area have authors come and do book readings/Q&As. There's definitely a diversity of authors. From Toni Morrison to Christian Siriano from Project Runway (asymmetrical hair cut, "that's a hot tranny mess", "fierce", "farouche" -- that guy). It really seems like every author comes through at some point. What's great is that the majority of these events are free (unless someone huge comes and it gets moved to a bigger venue to house everyone; then it usually costs a couple of bucks). Sometimes the various Borders or Barnes & Nobles in the areas have authors come. Though the best authors usually go to either one of these amazing, locally-owned bookstores: Politics & Prose and Busboys & Poets. These bookstores seem to have the monopoly on awesome authors. And, if you ask me, Politics & Prose takes the top spot. And that also happens to be my favorite bookstore (a bookstore that has been around for 25 years).

Some of my favorite book readings have probably been (in no order):

1. Sarah Vowell, for The Wordy Shipmates

This was our first book reading in DC. Sarah is just as nerdy as I imagined (and hoped). And she is effortlessly super sarcastic; which I love. The crowd at the book reading was not the crowd I imagined. I think I imagined a much younger crowd. There were young people, but there were a lot of older people. But upon further thought, it did make sense. These were well-educated, public-radio-listening, history-loving type of people; of course they would like Sarah Vowell.

And these people were obsessed with Sarah Vowell. Several people brought her flowers. I have never seen that done before, and haven't since. These fans would ask really detailed questions --like, "On page 47 of Assassination Vacation you said 'this', and it reminded me of what you said in The Partly Cloudy Patriot on page 76...could you elaborate?" And Sarah would look at them dumbfounded.

A lot of the people that asked questions were super nervous and awkward in their question delivery (how many people get starstruck standing in front of Sarah Vowell?!). And I've got to say, there were some weird questions. On more than one occasion Sarah looked a little flustered because she had no idea how to answer these people. You could tell she wanted to say, "I don't know what to say, because that's a really weird question." Like one lady said, "I did some research on my family genealogy and [way too much information and background on her family], and I discovered I'm distantly related to Sarah Palin. But then I also did some research on this side [even more information and background on her family], and I'm also distantly related to Barack Obama. What do you make of that?" That was really her question. I'm not exaggerating. Her question was what Sarah Vowell makes of this lady's distant, distant family tree. I think Sarah ended up saying something like "uh, I don't know...that's interesting. Next question." You could tell Sarah wanted to be more cynical and sarcastic, but these are her fans...and they brought her flowers.

One person said, with creepy dedication, that she and her husband listen to Sarah every time she's on the radio. They never miss her. I was seriously expecting that lady to finish that sentence with,"...my husband and I make love while you're on the radio. It puts us in the mood." This totally was a couple I could imagine seeing on an episode of Real Sex.

After her book reading, we got to chat with her for a little bit. We expressed our love for all her books and talked with her about Montana/Bozeman (she lived in Bozeman, where Eagan grew up). She seemed really glad to talk about Bozeman, the way people are glad to talk about places they've called home with others that know exactly what they're talking about and can relate.

2. William Julius Wilson, for More Than Just Race

If Sarah Vowell's crowd was creepy fans and socially awkward history buffs, William Julius Wilson's crowd was our kind of crowd. Chock-full of sociologists and other social science academics. People asked really interesting and thought-provoking questions. A debate even started on the issue of whether African Americans should be critical of Obama or whether they should be more supportive of him. There were accusations from some in the crowd that William Julius Wilson wasn't being critical enough of Obama for the fact that he's not doing much for the African American community. And he responded that Obama IS doing a lot for the community -- and he gave examples; and that Obama does have a lot on his plate; and that the black community shouldn't be so critical of him. It was an interesting discussion.

I love this old-school picture of Wilson

There were a lot of great questions/comments, and people were bringing up interesting articles and studies that Wilson should check out. William kept telling people, "Oh that's great, will you e-mail me that information. My e-mail address is..." I thought that was neat. I left the event with my little notepad filled with things I needed to look up.

3. John Hodgman, for More Information Than You Require

This event had the young crowd that I had imagined would have been at Sarah Vowell's reading. Though there were some "usuals" -- older people that I think just attend every reading that comes to Politics & Prose, regardless of who it is. I can imagine their confusion, "A guy that writes a book on made-up trivia?! Kids these days!"

John was unbelievably hilarious. I was laughing so hard throughout the entire event. He was constantly on. He had the most awesome, random funny stories. He didn't read from his book as much as he told stories and went on hilarious tangents. He talked about being a "famous minor TV personality". He said now he's rich enough to buy a tux. He said most of us common folk have to rent a tux, but he owns a tux. He said this is in direct contrast to when he was just a lowly book agent and he had to rent regular pants because he couldn't afford clothes. And he just ate Ramen -- but he couldn't afford water so he just ate the noodle cake and snorted the powder.

This guy thought he was John's doppelganger...

You know how just about every book event (or any event with a "famous person") there is some fan in the audience that tries to let the "famous person" and the audience know that they are the biggest, most dedicated fan? And this usually involves the superfan just spewing random knowledge about the famous person. So this particular fan said, "You know, you sell yourself short. You're not just a minor TV personality..." and John interjected, "famous, minor TV personality." The fan continued, "...you're not just a famous, minor TV personality; you're also a famous, minor movie personality. You've appeared in movies and you have some movie roles coming up. Like you're going to be in [movie name] and [movie name] and [movie name]..." and John interrupted him and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, what was your last name again, IMDB?" It was pretty awesome that he said that. It was like when Chuck Klosterman said to one superfan, "Why am I not surprised you own bootlegs?"

We also got to chat with John Hodgman for a little bit after his book reading. And on top of being hilarious, he's a really friendly guy. I don't even remember how it came up, but we started talking about Simon Fraser University and he said, "Battlestar Gallactica was filmed there!" How many people have that trivia floating around in their head? It was a great book reading and I walked away with a mild, unexplainable crush on him.

4. Eduardo Galeano, for Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone

This event was super packed. There are obviously a huge amount of Galeano fans in the area. It was standing-room only an hour before the event even started! It was such a great experience to hear Eduardo Galeano read his beautiful, poetic essays. He's such a legend. He also talked about his life and his writing career. He talked about Uruguay and how he was imprisoned. It was a very fascinating talk.

Coordinating shirt, sweater, jeans, and eyeglasses case. Adorable.

As a side note, during the book reading, Eagan and I were standing by this guy that we run into everywhere. He just randomly appears wherever we are. We first saw him at a Politics & Prose book reading. Then we'd see him at another. And another. Either he goes to all of them, or we have similar taste in books. Then we'd see him at restaurants or stores. And we see him in different parts of town. It's not like we just run into him in the same neighborhood. One time we were downtown and there was a protest going on about getting rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". And guess who is participating in the protest?! He apparently was participating in the protest but decided to take a break from walking and holding up a sign (hard work), and took a breather on the very corner that we were walking by. He's like Kris Kristofferson and Eric Roberts...they suddenly appear everywhere you look.

5. AJ Jacobs, for The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment

This reading was actually the same night that Nick Hornby was doing a reading for, Juliet, Naked. There was a lot of back and forth before we decided to go with AJ Jacobs. Although I'm a huge Nick Hornby fan, I'd say I more closely follow AJ Jacobs. I've read all his books (which I love) and get them the first week they come out. I can't always say that for Nick Hornby -- despite High Fidelity being one of my favorite books. And I know there will be another opportunity -- Nick Hornby will come back. Plus, I knew that AJ Jacobs would be hilarious. I would definitely rather talk to Nick Hornby about music. But in terms of doing a book reading, I would imagine AJ Jacobs to be more entertaining. And that he was. He was absolutely hilarious and has the most awesome amount of trivia and pop culture knowledge.

He's such a dork, and I love him

He wasn't as socially awkward as he comes off as in his books. But I can't get over how some of my favorite authors have kind-of-awkward, weird voices (AJ Jacobs, Sarah Vowell, David Sedaris, I'm sure I'll think of more later...). Oh, and if you've read any of AJ's books, you know he is kind of a neurotic, germaphobe type of person (my favorite!)...Anyway, the coordinators of the book event left a glass of water on the table for him. It was sitting there 30 minutes before he even came into the room. I was thinking, "Is there any way AJ is actually going to drink that water?" It's not sealed. It's been sitting on the table for a while. What's the cleanliness quality of the glass? For most of the reading he didn't touch it, and I thought I was going to be right. But then during the questions, he did take a sip. Damn!

AJ talked about all his past experiments/books and what they were like, and what the aftermath has been like. And he said his next experiment is to live a healthy life. He tries different exercise regimens and diets. I'm excited to see how he will turn that into hilarity.

In addition to all the great book readings throughout the year, there's a really cool annual event called "The National Book Festival" on the National Mall. It's put on by the Library of Congress. It's an all-day event of book readings and talks with the author. There are several different tents set up based on different genres, and so several readings happen at the same time.

This year they had young adult author greats like Lois Lowry and Judy Blume. As well as several popular authors like James Patterson, John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, Nicholas Sparks, John Irving, Ken Burns, Gwen Ifill, Sue Monk Kidd, Azar Nafisi... Even Paula Deen was there. And, Holly & Davis will appreciate this, Rickey Minor! In addition to book readings and signings, the festival has different activities and book sales. Unfortunately we weren't able to make it this year due to a family situation, but we're looking forward to next year's.

Things To Do: Movie Screenings

A lot of different venues in the area have special film screenings; and often talks/discussions to go along with the screening. Many of the museums, libraries, and embassies in the area have film screenings.

There are different groups in the area that watch unreleased films (advanced screenings) and then discuss the movie as a group.

There is even an event where you get to watch a bunch of movie trailers for upcoming films.

Most of the film events we have attended have been at the American Film Institute Silver Theatre which is two blocks from our apartment. I love that theatre, and I love how close and convenient it is. This three-screen theatre plays independent/art house movies, as well as some mainstream films (they had Julie & Julia, but don't hold your breath for Jennifer's Body). It's an old theatre that was initially built in 1938 and was restored and re-opened in 2003. The main screening room is absolutely gorgeous and I love how they maintained the 1930s style.

The other two, smaller screening rooms look like private screening rooms in Hollywood (or what I imagine them to look like...). And, this is perk for a lot of people, they serve alcohol at the concessions stand.

The AFI also has a lot of special theme screenings. For example, a month dedicated to David Fincher movies, or Cyd Charisse films, or 80s movies, or horror movies for Halloween. They also host a bunch of different film festivals. Eagan and I have attended screenings for the SilverDocs documentary film festival, the AFI Latin American Film Festival, and the DC Labor Film Festival. Next month is the AFI European Union Film Festival. There are usually people involved with the film at the screenings for a discussion/Q&A after the movie.

Recently, the AFI had a special advanced screening of Michael Moore's new documentary Capitalism: A Love Story.

They gave out the tickets for free and they even gave free concessions (a popcorn, drink, and bag of candy for everyone). In addition, Michael Moore was there to discuss the film and answer questions. He shared interesting things about the making of the film -- like when he was putting yellow police tape around buildings on Wall Street, a police officer came up to him. Michael said, "I know, I know...I'm doing this for a movie..." And the police officer said, "No, take your time. This company [that they were standing in front of] took X amount out of our police pensions. Take your time."

It was a really neat experience overall. It's cool watching a movie with like-minded audience members that cheer during the film and yell at the screen when something in the film makes them angry (well, not THAT like-minded). It's neat witnessing a passionate viewing of a film.

Screen shot

Promotional signs. A sign to be placed in front of foreclosed homes or businesses. And a pitchfork for the angry mob.

Another great source of movie screenings are outdoor film screenings. There are quite a bit of outdoor screenings going on throughout DC during the summer. This past summer there were at least ten different outdoor film events going on each week in different areas. Each one usually had a theme -- superhero movies, 80s movies (which ended up being a great tribute to John Hughes), music movies and documentaries, blockbusters, classics, sci-fi movies. It's great lying on a blanket, having a picnic, and watching a movie under the stars.

The most popular and iconic summer outdoor film event is Screen on the Green. It's an event sponsored by HBO and a movie is played on the National Mall. There's such a cult following that there is even a dance ("The HBO Dance") that nearly everyone in the crowd does when the HBO logo comes on the screen. This year the event was almost canceled due to a lack of funding -- but so many people complained about the thought of no SOTG, that sponsors realized how huge this event is and signed on as well and so, luckily, it wasn't canceled. This year had a lot of classic movies: On the Waterfront, Rebel Without a Cause, Dog Day Afternoon, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It's such a cool experience watching a movie with a view of The Capitol behind the screen and a view of the Washington Monument behind you.

I Heart DC

We have now been in the DC area for a year now. And in a month we will have lived in our home for a year. I absolutely love it here. Now I know a lot about the DC area neighborhoods/cities -- where they're located and what the general vibe of that area is. I ride the metro with the greatest of ease. I have routes memorized. I actually give people directions now. I know local pronunciations -- you won't catch me saying "Bowie, Maryland" as in David Bowie. I know it's Boo-ee. And now that I've lived here a while, whenever I see Chevy Chase, I instantly think of the city and not the actor. And now I'm more familiar with seeing Takoma with a k instead of a c.

What I continue to love so much about DC is that there is always so much to do and see. There's always something going on, more so than any other place we've lived before. Eagan and I have been sure to take advantage of this and not take for granted the amazing (often-times free) opportunities we have in such an amazing city like DC. I'm going to try to post about these activities we've taken advantage of, as a tribute to my love of this city and my first year living in it.

Huh?: The Week in Review

This Thursday was the 60th anniversary of communist rule in China. There were a lot of cool photographs of the event on the various news sites. What really caught my eye was the women soldier outfits.

Seriously, China? Mini-skirts and go-go boots?

Soldiers of the People Liberation's Army

Female militia unit

(And white boots after Labor Day?! What are you crazy?!)

---

The Senate Finance Committee can't be bothered to pass a public health care option, but they can pass abstinence-only education funding?! Despite evidence that it doesn't work and is a colossal failure. The vote was 12 to 11. Kent Conrad (Supposed Democrat - North Dakota) and Blanche Lincoln (Supposed Democrat - Arkansas) sided with the Republicans.

And there's more. An alternate measure proposed by Max Baucus (D-Montana) also passed (14-9). This measure would provide money for education on contraception and STDs in addition to abstinence. How are there members that voted for both measures? One says "abstinence ONLY", the other says "education + abstinence". How can you vote for both? It's like, "I'll vote for a pacifism only bill AND a bill that starts war, alongside pacifism."

---

To the International Olympic Committee: Don't think for one second that Oprah is going to forget about this.

Hey, It's That Lady!

Beth Grant.

This lady is everywhere. She seems to just randomly pop up in several movies and TV shows I've seen. It seems like she's been in just about everything. I bet nearly everyone has seen her in something. Despite her making an appearance in everything, I didn't even know her name (I had to look it up). She rarely has a role in a movie that brings on more than a couple of lines. You rarely remember her character's name -- that is, if she has one; sometimes she's the "lady in the diner". A lot of times her character doesn't have a last name. She's one of those actors that is so hard to describe to other people because you don't know her name and she mostly has small or obscure roles. People don't usually remember who played bit roles. But then if you show her picture, I imagine people will go, "Oh! Hey, it's that lady! She was in _____."

But, seriously, she pops up in everything. To name a few:

She was in Rain Man - She was the mother at the farmhouse that let Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman watch TV.

The Wizard - She was a worker at the diner.

Speed - One of the passengers. The hysterical one.

To Wong Foo - One of the townspeople. The drunk.

A Time to Kill - The mother of the racist that Samuel L. Jackson kills.

Donnie Darko - Conservative bitch/teacher

Six Feet Under - The evangelical lady that thinks rapture is coming and gets hit by a car

Little Miss Sunshine - The beauty pageant director

No Country for Old Men - Carla Jean's mom

The Office - Dwight's former babysitter/date at Michael and Jan's dinner party.

And then I just saw a trailer for Extract and she's in that movie as well.

She is omnipresent.