This weekend I decided to do something audacious, something that I've been wanting to do for a while, something that would break all the rules of "normal"...
...I willingly paid $22 to watch two movies. Watching movies in the city comes at a very steep price, unfortunately. I hate missing out on great movies because of the price--but I am no longer going to be victimized by pricey movie tickets. I deserve to watch movies when it's really hot and humid outside.
Are you asking why I don't just get a student discount on my tickets? Well, because they only exist on Tuesdays (as many theaters have told me) and it's too awkward of a time.
All ticket prices aside, I went to watch "Lust, Caution" all by myself on Houston and also "The Darjeeling Limited" at Union Square.
You know, I found "Lust, Caution" to be a very good movie. It was well thought-out, very meaningful. I don't really think that it was made to be a movie with a lot of historical facts (or that it sought out to be like a war flick as I've read in some reviews), but instead, it's more of a portrait of a Chinese traitor and his twisted, scary, passionate relationship with a student revolutionary (but, of course he doesn't know she's who she really is). Also, take into account the young person's love for their country...the extent to which they're willing to help...
And, yes, I thought their first sex scene was completely necessary, as were the subsequent scenes, but then they didn't have to be so long.
But that's only what I think.
After coming out of the movie theater, I saw a man who looked suspiciously like Ang Lee...and I choked. I remember my father telling me that if I ever saw Ang Lee on the streets of New York to stop him and say, "You're the ultimate treasure of all Chinese people" (or something along those lines).
"The Darjeeling Limited". It was most excellent and very well-done. Every shot was so colorful and breath-taking, you know what I mean? Funny and poignant. And the acting--so good! Fabulous cast. I've developed a crush on Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson, and Wes Anderson.
...is that normal?
After "Lust, Caution" I headed to Max Brenner's for some chocolate. Unfortunately, the wait was 1.5 hours, so we went to Forbidden Planet. I love Forbidden Planet because of their wide variety of comics. Personally, I love looking at Archie comics. Don't laugh. It's been a desire of mine to purchase the Americana series of the 1950s or the 1940s. Or even the 1960s. Who am I kidding? I like them all...
BUT, we found a much lovelier comic:
Isn't he great? His name is Coot.
I have a video coming up in this blog. It'll be a pretty terribly vlog, but, on the brighter side, you'll learn a bit o' Japanese.
(PS: The Children's book section isn't "new", it was only new to me. And, yeah, it's a pretty lame video--but I highly suggest you spend a lot of time at Strand because it's the most wonderful place in all of the city. Look at all those books! Breath-taking!)
Thank goodness for Columbus Day. Without this "holiday" I probably would have never been able to accomplish so very much.
Here's a fun cleaning video:
(I know, video overload! Please excuse me)
(And yes I did use "broom" as a verb)