The Year in Movies: 2012

It's that time of year again! Here are the 2012 movies I saw, and what I damn well thought of them. Because this blog needs content! Oh how it needs content...


On with the show.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

A beloved spy fiction classic gets the screen treatment it deserves. Filmed in grimy Cold War colors by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson (who made Let The Right One In, one of my favorite vampire films), the heavy atmosphere of secrecy and betrayal in the 70s is practically tangible. Gary Oldman gives one of his best performances as George Smiley, the British spy for MI6, out of retirement to find a suspected Soviet mole buried deep in the intelligence service. I read the novel as a teen, then re-read it a few years ago, and appreciated it even more. The author, John LeCarre, is not just my favorite espionage author, but one of my favorite writers, period. The film brings the book admirably to life, not only matching what was in my mind's eye, but enhancing it. I only wish there were more espionage films this good. Most people think a spy's life is as explosive and sexy as Bond's, or at least as tense and electric as Bourne's. LeCarre actually served, and he includes the reality that it's often slow and tedious work, punctuated only occasionally by the rare success.

The Descendants

George Clooney stars in an Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways) film about a Hawaiian man who suffers the loss of his wife in a boating accident. He finds out she was cheating on him, and so begins his journey to reconcile her indiscretion with his own shortcomings and the effect on their family. Clooney conveys the sense of a man overwhelmed by events amid the shimmering green paradise of the Hawaiian islands. Shailene Woodley also impresses as his older teen daughter. Even when the weather's perfect most of the time, life can get very difficult. The harsh tone of the family's emotional suffering is the well-played counterpoint to the gorgeous cinematography by Phedon Papamichael, who's worked with Payne before.

Haywire

It's Steven Soderbergh's spy thriller, starring Gina Carano, previously known as a successful MMA fighter well-versed in the Muay Thai style. Though not a trained actress, I thought she acquitted herself well, and the fight sequences hum with palpable danger. Her character works for a non-political entity, taking “dirty” jobs that the powers-that-be would rather keep in the shadows. She's double-crossed on one job, and seeks to find who did it and why. Soderbergh's films are never quite what you expect from Hollywood, which is mostly a good thing, though Carano has trouble showing her vulnerability at times. Despite this, I enjoyed the twists and turns of her personal mission to find her betrayer.

The Raid: Redemption

An Indonesian action film directed by a Westerner? That's what we have in this entry, about a SWAT team invading an apartment building occupied by a drug lord. Soon they're trapped on the seventh floor, and the recriminations for their fate begin to fly. The film features many action set-pieces involving armed and unarmed combat. The risk here is the feeling that you're watching choreography rather than actual fight scenes, and I did experience that on occasion with this movie. Overall though, the action is intense and gritty. There's a high body count by the end, and we learn that sometimes you can't trust the good guys either. One of the best action films of the year on a comparatively tiny budget.

The Three Stooges

The Farrelly Brothers' attempt to recapture the magic of the original comedy team from the 30s and 40s . This includes Curly, the brother of Moe who died in 1952 but had stopped appearing in their short films several years earlier. The gags are decent, and the actors chosen to portray the trio do an admirable job, though I still would've preferred to see Sean Penn as Larry, who was rumored to be under consideration for the part in early production. Still, the overall effect of the film was to make me want to see the original shorts. I've always been a fan of them, and the comedy was so rudimentarily physical and shocking that they are still popular today. It's worth checking out if you're a fan, and it serves as a fittingly well-made tribute to their art, for which they all paid a high price, especially Curly, who spent his final years in hospitals and sanitariums, suffering a rapid mental and physical decline.

Being Flynn

I'd always wanted to see my name up in lights! This was my chance, although I wished they'd used the book title from which the movie is based (Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn). Paul Dano plays the eponymous author, who endures a troubled upbringing with his mother, and a father who is never really a presence in his young life, but constantly refers to himself as a great writer, despite never being published. When Nick grows up, he works in a homeless shelter and meets his dad there. Nick struggles with his own addictions and mental demons as he tries to help his father through itinerant homelessness and mental illness, and pursue his own dream of being a poet. Dano gives a raw performance and DeNiro continues his late-career practice of taking roles one wouldn't expect him to take. He does a reliably decent job in this film, though it doesn't quite match up to his best work.

The Avengers

Joss Whedon's long-anticipated blockbuster of the Marvel superteam. Their single character films have all led to this one, where they join together to fight a threat to Earth, in this case Thor's evil brother Loki. I sat in fanboy amazement as I witnessed a slice of pop culture made successful by my generation (comic books) take over the cineplex and go on to become the third highest-grossing film of all time, behind only Avatar and Titanic. The movie earned every dollar with its outsized action sequences. Every character trope was present, from the way Thor swings his hammer in fast circles prior to throwing it, to the Hulk's fantastically giant single leaps. I'm hoping the sequel will somehow include my favorite Avengers character, the Vision, an android with unbelievable powers. I could geek out all over again.

Snow White and The Huntsman

An edgier retelling of the Snow White fairy tale with Kristen Stewart as a kick-ass Snow White and Chris Hemsworth (Thor and The Avengers) as the huntsman. The impressive effects are wasted on an insipid script, and Kristen Stewart spends most of her time not saying much and acting even less. The dwarves are kept in as comedy relief, some of it unintentional. I was bored about 10 minutes into this lark and consider it an achievement that I even finished watching it. Your life will not be noticeably less fulfilling if you decide to give it a pass.

Moonrise Kingdom

A customarily eccentric, gentle tale from Wes Anderson, who is known for eccentric, not so much for gentle. It's set in 1965 on a fictional island off the coast of New England. There's a scout troop on the island and a hurricane is coming. Sam, played by Jared Gilman, has decided to run away from the troop. There is a frenzied search for him as he hooks up with a girl he often writes, the daughter of parents played by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand. It's fun seeing actors like Bruce Willis and Edward Norton step into Anderson's world. The setting and the time period reminded me somewhat of my own childhood, even though I don't think it was meant to be entirely accurate. It was a pleasant diversion. You won't, however, find a deep dive into anything emotionally resonant.

Prometheus

Ridley Scott returns to the Alien franchise to direct a prequel, involving the stunning shot of the engineer in the first film. I always considered that shot one of the many highlights of the movie that began it all, and looked forward to its origin being explored, by the original director no less. Unfortunately, the story turns out to be a pedestrian space fantasy exercise, ultimately bleeding the image of any mystique it once had for me. Sure, the visuals are top-notch, but the engineer turns out to be just another very human-like victim of the aliens, despite having the appearance of being on a constant diet of steroids. I still plan to watch Alien again to cleanse my memory banks of this travesty. I saw this in 3D Imax, the effect of which made me nauseous through much of the movie...although the execution could've been responsible as well.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Speaking of cinematic palate cleansing...finally, someone comes along and fixes those awful Sam Raimi Spider-Man creations. Sorry, too campy for me. Director Marc Webb returns to the basics, and reboots my favorite superhero in a fashion more befitting a self-effacing wall-crawler. The villain featured is The Lizard, and James Garfield nails it as Peter Parker. Those wacky biological web-spinners are ditched in favor of Peter's mechanical ones, straight out of the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko comics. The film was brought down a half-notch by having to sit through the origin story once again, but once that bill is paid, the action soars through the Manhattan skyline. I left the theater smiling, satisfied that they'd finally gotten Spidey right.

Savages

The first Oliver Stone film I've seen since...U Turn? Really? Yeah, it's been a long time. This film is somewhat similar to that last one I'd seen though. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Taylor Kitsch star as a couple of drug dealing buddies who run afoul of a powerful Mexican cartel. They share a girlfriend, played by Blake Lively, who's kidnapped by the cartel to buy their cooperation. It's a tense, dark story, and it verges on parody at times. In the end though, Stone's dayglo Socal thriller never stops the twists from coming, and brings home the goods.

The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan's last film in his very successful Batman trilogy. This one has Tom Hardy as Bane, a chemically enhanced bruiser who breaks Batman's back and puts him out of commission while he pursues his plan to destroy Gotham. Not as good as the second film with Heath Ledger's brilliant turn as the Joker, this one nevertheless closed out the run in typical Nolan style. The real stars of this movie and the series as a whole were the vehicles and the gadgets. In each film, Nolan had a way of orchestrating Batman's entrance in a uniquely subtle fashion, as if it were almost an afterthought. Each action sequence built its momentum slowly, and the best were those featuring chases using the bat-vehicles. The fluidity and inventiveness were marvels to behold, even if I did have trouble understanding Bane sometimes. Now that Christian Bale is done, who will be next to wear the cowl?

The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to There Will Be Blood, another favorite of mine, this film pitched forward in history a bit to post-war America. Joaquin Phoenix plays a veteran, just home from the Pacific and literally drifting from one bad situation to another. He meets Lancaster Dodd, a charismatic man who writes philosophical treatises on his own system of faith, and holds court at gatherings of his movement's members around the country. Local boy-made-good Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Dodd and delivers his typical splendid job. I didn't find it as satisfying as There Will Be Blood, but the performances were top-notch, and the cinematography was stunning. There's one scene featuring Hoffman and Amy Adams, who plays his wife, that, to me, was laugh out loud funny. It might've seemed incongruous in the midst of a heavy drama, but in the context of the world built here, it made sense. In those years after World War II, the party was just getting started.

Argo

Can Ben Affleck direct as well? Yes, he can. The true story of the escape from Iran in 1980 of six Americans, managing to avoid capture through the good will of the Canadian embassy. Affleck plays a CIA agent who hatches a plan to fly in with a fake Hollywood sci-fi production, heavily reminiscent of Star Wars. There are many close calls, and the tension through most of the film is thick. The nail-biting escape is embellished—apparently their exit was actually much quieter than depicted—but the claustrophobic sense of being with this small group of people in a vast sea of hate was palpable.

Lincoln

Another year, another film from Spielberg, who's cranking out movies now like he's on the clock. This time it's the story of our 16^th president and how he pushed through passage of the 13^th Amendment, effectively making his Emancipation Proclamation the law of the land. Daniel Day-Lewis has the honor of the title role, and once again owns it. The script was penned by playwright Tony Kushner, and there are many scenes of men in a room, talking. The hail of words got a little impenetrable about a half hour in, but then the momentum begins to build up to the fateful vote in Congress. As you might expect, the staging is impeccable, and the camera work by Janusz Kaminski, a frequent collaborator for the director, paints a burnished, authentic canvas. For me, probably Spielberg's best film since Munich.

The Sessions

Easily my favorite film of the year. John Hawkes (from 2010's Winter's Bone) plays a quadriplegic writer who wants to finally lose his virginity. After some halting attempts in the real world, he decides to hire a sex surrogate, a professional (no, not that kind) that helps people resolve sexual issues in their lives. As we see Mark O'Brien and the surrogate (Helen Hunt) play out each session, the two form a bond, and O'Brien fulfills his goal. The first-person narration is spare and beautifully written, interspersed with the main character's poems. It's a movie that tries to remind us, though few of us will probably ever seriously think about it, that we take so much in our lives for granted. Simple things, like being able to walk, or somehow managing to find the love of your life, even if it's just for a short time. It's a crime this didn't get seen more. Hopefully, people will seek it out on video.

Flight

Denzel Washington as a pilot who flies his plane under the influence, yet still manages a miraculous landing after a mechanical failure. A rare adult film for Robert Zemeckis, who's spent the last decade or so making awful animated films about Beowulf and the holidays. He mostly succeeds here. There's the requisite romance with a woman he meets in the hospital, but after the accident his life becomes a media circus and it continues its slow unraveling. I was glad I didn't have to fly after seeing this movie. The crash sequence is unnerving and harrowing, showing people tossed around like rag dolls as the plane careens through the air. In the end, there's redemption, but the price paid is steep indeed.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Plans were for Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) to direct this Tolkien tale, but he dropped out after delays. So Peter Jackson once again takes the reins, first announcing two movies, now three, even though this story is far shorter than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The first installment returns us to Hobbiton, where Bilbo Baggins finds himself wanted for a mission by Gandalf. Jackson filmed this at 48 frames per second, twice the normal rate. I'm not sure if I saw this version, but it did have an extremely polished feel to it, almost as if it were entirely animation. I wasn't sure at first if I even wanted to see the next two movies, but by this one's end, I decided I would. Though certainly not a horrible movie, I found my interest mainly stemming from having read the book, and what I could pick out from that now rather dim memory. I'm hoping the next two in the series are better, and there's no sag in the middle, like the Rings trilogy had.

Silver Linings Playbook

Probably the best date movie of the year. An intelligently written and funny romance with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Cooper suffers a mental setback due to his wife's infidelity, and Lawrence is a widow. They both somehow find each other and begin to hit it off, the pretext being a dance competition which she convinces him to train with her for. Never mind that anyone who looks like these two would be in such dire straits, or be single in the first place. But it's Hollywood. Suspension of disbelief is a must. The movie has charm to spare, and it won me over handily. I laughed many times, I didn't cry, and the ending slightly thawed my cold, cynical heart.

The Impossible

On the other hand, it was hard not to cry at this one. The true story of one family in Thailand as the 2004 tsunami hit the coast on the day after Christmas. A shaky plane ride in pushes portents at us as the day draws near. Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts play the parents of a family with three boys, having their tropical holiday washed away in mere seconds. The tsunami scene is terrifying as we see people and their possessions batted around like toys in the killer wave. Initially we follow the mother and the older son as they take shelter in a tall tree, in case more waves come. We're not sure if the rest of the family is alive or not. There's no Michael Bay theatrics here. This is a story of real people and how fragile we all are in the face of nature's fury. Make no mistake...the planet is still in charge. And she could shrug us off if she felt enough of an itch. Heart-wrenching performances amid the chaos made this a much more visceral experience than I was expecting. Incidentally, the real family was from Spain, but the leads are probably the most Anglo-Saxon people on film. Not sure why they went there, but the filmmakers were Spanish, at least.

And that was 2012 at the movies for me. Again, the gems were out there if one looked hard enough. I hope your choices were just as satisfying. I'm looking forward to another year before illegal downloading starts to do to movies what it did to music. Let's hope that's a more distant time than it seems.

Mostly Space

“All phenomena orginate in the mind.”

You often find this in Buddhist teachings. For the longest time, I wasn't sure how to approach it. Like that tree in my yard. I'm pretty sure I'm not projecting it with my mind. Other people see it, and can touch it. So how does it originate in my mind?

Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in syntax where the teachings are concerned. We can tend to apply very literal interpretations, which is what I believe I'm doing here. I had a moment of insight as I ran at North Ponds yesterday, with an icy wind blowing off the lake to spur me on. I noticed a fallen leaf on the asphalt path as I came up to the front of the park. It was multi-colored, with brown and orange and some green mixed in. The edges of the leaf were curled over, so that it appeared to be a pile of something, rather than a dead leaf. From the odd assortment of colors, I assumed it was a pile of dog shit. At first glance, my brain registered this, and I almost immediately felt a slight wave of nausea. A few seconds later though, I realized it was a leaf, and the nausea instantly disappeared.

This proves that our senses aren't very reliable, or “deceivers”, as the Buddha called them. But it also effectively demonstrates the point above. Other matter does exist around us, and we're not beaming it into existence with mind rays. What originates in the mind is our tendency to label, to ascribe characteristics, to jump to conclusions and place objects and experiences into categories. All of this conceptual thinking leads us very far away from an open and natural way of living. We use our brains to build boxes...and endlessly compartmentalize. As the sages teach, it's not long before we're stuck in attachment and aversion (for example, “what a beautiful leaf!” and “ugh, dog crap”). My example is rather trivial. We engage in this type of behavior every day on much weightier issues.

It isn't a great leap to apply this to trees or other simple physical objects. We see a tree, but the building blocks of this tree and everything else are atoms. If we could see at that level, we'd notice that atoms are mostly space. Mostly...emptiness. What we call a “tree” is really our conception of a huge number of atoms arranged in a specific fashion. We sense only through a thin slice of the possible spectrum.

Off to get groceries, where I'll once again try to convince myself that those cookies are mostly made of space.

A Hard Boiled Shaman

Muktuk Wolfsbreath: Hard Boiled Shaman is an online comic I started following a couple of years ago. I can't recall how I found it. Probably linked through some comic news site I visit. I read a couple of the daily strips and found it entertaining. I wasn't very good at keeping up with a daily strip though. I didn't visit the site for months, and by the time I did, the strips were no longer available there.

I was happy to learn, however, that the author, Terry LaBan, published his strip in book form. Wanting to support the author, I ordered a copy through Amazon. I recently read the entire story and enjoyed it in its entirety.

It's titled “The Spirit of Boo”, and it involves our eponymous Siberian shaman and his efforts to save a young boy who's fallen desperately ill. In his otherworldly travels, Muktuk discovers that a rival shaman is attempting to claim the boy's soul due to a debt owed by his clan.

As the title suggests, the story mashes up shamanism with a story right out of your average noir detective film. There's a femme fatale, the initial mystery of the boy's illness, and the mistrust Muktuk encounters despite his good intentions. I'm not normally a fan of this stunt, and the world of comics is unfortunately enamored of it all too often. Think of the movie Cowboys and Aliens, based off of a graphic novel. The very idea conjured by the title just doesn't appeal to me.

LaBan's story succeeds though. Although a case could be made that there's a noir overlay to the proceedings, I could believe Siberian natives acting in the way that they did, even without that conceit. Muktuk has to make tough choices, one of which results in the death of a close animal friend. The dialogue is suitably sparse, and in spite of the presence of talking animals, there's no Disney effect. A boy's life hangs in the balance, and the story never forgets it.

The art is somewhat cartoony, but not so much that it detracts from the subject matter. The one weakness I found was LaBan's depiction of the demons. It's extremely rudimentary, a style which I feel I could copy almost exactly, and I'm no great artist by any means. It's a minor flaw, in the end.

As a bonus, the author includes older stories that were serialized in DC's Vertigo imprint back in the mid-90s. The stories are fairly short and lightweight, and the art is more detailed, very reminiscent, in fact, of R Crumb. They show how far LaBan has brought the character in nearly 20 years.

He hints at possibly more Muktuk stories to come. If you're looking for a graphic novel that isn't superheroes, and which boasts a very unusual setting with good writing, this is definitely worth a look.

Running As Practice

0:10

I've always been a slow starter. It usually takes a decent force of will to get my legs pumping enough to exit the driveway. My impulse is to start out fast, but I try to temper this. Later on, I'll pick up speed and feel better about my pace. In the beginning, it's all about easing into the workout.

01:05

Taking the long loop around my neighborhood before heading out on Route 250 for a short stretch. Dogs are barking at the expected houses. One, as I leave Pontiac Street, looks as if it's going to dig through the glass sheet in the door separating it from the outside world. I can clearly hear the tumult it's producing. How much louder it must be in the house, mingled with the owner's vain admonishments to quiet down.

01:52

Another house on 250 with a couple of dogs who sometimes patrol the front yard. One is a chocolate Lab while the other is a smaller breed, perhaps a mix of Pug and something else. I laugh as the smaller dog jumps up periodically to box the Lab's muzzle as he's barking. The Pug mix wants to warn me away from the yard, but also feels as if the Lab is stealing its thunder. I would love to stop and say hello, but canine behavior can be unpredictable on their own territory. Maybe someday...

02:11

I wait for an opening and cross 250 gingerly, beginning my cruise down a side street. It's cooler, but still humid. I'm minding the humidity less though. The shirt is starting to stick to me and I realize I didn't wash it last time I did laundry. A mental note to include it next time. I'm briefly amazed at the variety of bird calls I hear this time of year. Our normally cold, forbidding land is transformed into something approaching tropical. I try not to feel attachment, but the stain of it remains in my mind. It's my favorite season, after all.

03:45

Marking out a big loop through the adjacent, more affluent area across 250. A house that had been for sale now has a moving van in the yard. People are unloading it methodically. I believe this house went on sale after my neighbor's, and yet the new owners are moving in while my neighbors still seem to be in the process of moving preparation. Just my luck. It's probably my fervent wish for their removal that keeps them there so long. It's nearly three months since the house sold. I try to remember what patience feels like.

05:23

Winding my way through short tracts, keeping in a general loop. I pass a mother out with her daughter, teaching her how to ride a pink bike. The training wheels are still on. I recall my own memory of this milestone in a young life. The training wheels coming off, and feeling like a God for somehow conquering gravity. I miss having a bicycle. The running workout can feel like drudgery most days. The bike is a portal to a freedom I haven't felt in a long time...a speed powered by my legs which I can't match otherwise, without the aid of an engine. You race along with the wind, quietly, flying at ground level. It's no wonder the Wright Brothers started out as bicycle repairmen.

07:39

The mention of feeling a God earlier sparks another thought—of the recent Higgs boson discovery. The so-called “God particle”, which is said to provide the glue for the universe, among other things. Science has always wanted to look behind the curtain, to catch “God” as He or She works in their mysterious way. Science is focused on the relative, however. I don't believe it will ever be able to glimpse beyond the measurable realm. Even now, there are doubts about the import of this discovery. Some feel it's too much like what they expected. A real revelation would've been something entirely new and wholly unpredicted. We want so badly to bring the God realm into the Human. Pure hubris.

10:00

Loose now. The odd, dull pains I sometimes feel in my joints and muscles have dissipated. I'm more confident that this won't be the run I injure something. I've stretched well enough. A problem that plagued my previous pair of running shoes, laces untying in the middle of workouts, has yet to manifest with my Nikes. Should've gone with Nike all along. They've never failed me.

A squirrel busy digging in a landscaped patch is surprised by my sudden approach, and it is madly scrambling for the nearest tree. If I'd been a dog, it might not have ended so happily for it.

12:48

It rained a few hours earlier, and the dank earthy smell rises from the ground strongly. The straw-colored swaths of grass take on a tawnier shade. I recall standing at my screen door as the rain began to fall, and the land seeming to sigh in relief at its arrival. Something is different in the air around me, an atmosphere so thick I practically swim through it. Maybe it's a diminished stress level. The grass is short, but weeds sprout up, some of them flowering, a sign that many have not mowed their lawn in weeks. Mine is no different. I don't mind it for brief periods. Once it begins in April, the necessity of mowing every weekend can quickly feel like an especially persistent burden. This dry interval we've had could be coming to an end soon.

15:21

Unusually, a second wind creeps into my body. Despite the oppressive air, I feel renewed strength from somewhere within, and my stride reaches out, grabbing more ground and propelling me forward. I try not to question how long it will last, and just enjoy the experience. I've slept badly, and I know later on I'll wish I had that energy back. For now, I steam through the hazy sun, feeling an assurance in my step that reminds me for a time of younger days.

18:07

The sky is cloudy, but doesn't threaten more rain. I was hoping it was done for the day. I didn't want to endure another public shower. I think back about the times I've been caught out in downpours, rolling into my driveway with my clothes plastered to me, my shoes saturated and burbling. Very uncomfortable. The thought still occurs that I should get some rain gear for just such times, but I have yet to go.

22:31

A curvy branch in the road makes me briefly think it's a snake. I've seen a number of snakes at the ponds near work. A couple have been a very good size. One seemed unconcerned by the presence of humans. I blocked its path for a few seconds and it regarded me with something like herpetological insouciance. Once I moved on, it continued on its meandering journey, as if I were no more than a passing cloud.

25:28

Leaving this part of the village, back out to 250, and I run along the sloping shoulder, waiting for a break in the flow of cars. The flattened opossum that had lain near the storm drain for most of late last summer and fall has finally been cleaned up. Another marker of impermanence. I've been thinking a lot about death more recently, just to get myself more mentally prepared for it. The sages teach that reflecting upon our death, upon our body's impermanence, can be a very strong and effective practice. I'm always reminded of the phrase, “where rock meets bone in insight.” This is a teaching where rock really does meet bone. I always refer to it as the Great Matter. What other subject or event can make such an impact? There was a country song with a title like "Live Like You Were Dying" or something similar. The song is about a person with only so much time left, and proceeds to use that time to do things like skydiving...basically thrill-seek as much as possible before it's gone. That isn't good preparation for death though. It's actually grasping, trying to grab some more samsara before passing on. This can only lead to more attachment, which will make the the journey more difficult. My response so far has been a more urgent need to meditate and reflect on teachings. To help as many other beings as I can. Might not make a hit song, but I'll be better prepared for leaving all of this behind.

32:54

Back in my neighborhood, rounding the long curve of Pontiac Street, attempting to build up a kick for the end. Some days I'm more successful than others. The second wind I'd enjoyed has largely scattered, but I manage a brief rush at the finish. I jog very slowly then walk back to the house. A brief mumbled prayer of thanks to the Buddhas for a dry day and an offering of it to them. Too often I forget to make dedications, but it's a good thing to practice regulary.

I try to run mindfully, to keep my mind as clear as possible while running, but more often than not I'm unsuccessful. Lately, I've been trying to recall that thoughts are just an expression of the luminosity of mind, that the basic nature of mind is always there whether we are thinking or not. It helps. There are still long moments when I get hooked on the thorn of a thought, and I will closely follow it, tracing its crazy path through my brain. Much like the butterflies you see with their twisting flight through fields and lawns. They dissolve eventually. The ideal is to keep this view constantly. My brain on running reminds me that I haven't yet reached this stage of development. It's good practice, nevertheless.

A Giant Passes On

Ray Bradbury died this week at the age of 91. The tributes came from far and wide. His books and stories have seeped into so many corners of the globe.

The actual cover of the book I found

I discovered him in 6^th grade, shortly after moving up here. I can dimly recall going into the school library one day and passing the shelves, reading the titles on the spines. I can't recall why exactly, but it was probably because of the way the book appeared. It was a hardcover with softcover dimensions, with an appealing font and a look of durability. It was one of Bradbury's early novels, Dandelion Wine. It's about a boy's coming of age in small-town Illinois. Bradbury's evocative descriptions of summer nights, the smell and feel of new sneakers, and the charged moments of youth were new landscapes for me in fiction. I'd never read a story where it so closely matched my own experience, even if I didn't live in 1928. I'd just moved to a small town at the time, so timing had a great deal to do with my fascination as well. The life I'd imagined I was moving to no longer existed. It had vanished years before. This book offered me a glimpse into what I had missed, and wished could be recovered. If not the reality, then at least my romantic version of it.

Bradbury's prose was steeped in poetry. He wasn't a dense writer. He used words carefully, making sure every one had meaning. I was soon devouring his other books. I found his short stories, specifically the collections The Illustrated Man and The Martian Chronicles. You could only envy the ideas he came up with. There was the story Kaleidoscope, where a small group of astronauts are stranded in the midst of space, with nothing but their spacesuits and a couple hours of oxygen supply. Knowing they face death, they talk to each other about existential matters, trying not to think of the inevitable. Another story, titled All Summer in a Day, concerns a class of young students on Venus, where it rains constantly...except for two hours during one day out of the year. We read about the student's myriad reactions as the sun appears for that short window of time.

To me, these stories were like effective pop songs. They had an irresistible hook. You wanted to see the characters' reactions, and you compared yours with theirs. Many of these stories dealt with humans up against the meaning of their existence, faced with their impermanence against the vast black canvas of the universe. Their own, or just the elusiveness of the present moment. How easily it slips from our grasp. What else do we have, really?

I wrote Ray when I was 12 or 13, asking for writing advice. His work must've moved me tremendously then. He sent back a short letter, much to my surprise, telling me to write every day as he did, starting when he was 12. He also recommended a couple of books, one of which I did read. It was The Summing Up by W. Somerset Maugham, who turned out to be one of my favorite authors growing up. I never matched Ray's work ethic. He did open up in me a love for good writing though that remains with me to this day. I thank him for that.

May you find peace, Ray. And I hope that what you gave to me is returned to you tenfold.

Old Friends

Very tired.

Years after I thought I had left it behind, insomnia comes to visit again. I should've known better. It never really leaves, and the trigger can be something small, like a neighbor's inconsiderateness at 6 in the morning after I've worked a 10 hour day. I know that I give it more fuel than it needs, or deserves. Last week they put their house up for sale. I won't be sorry to see them go (or at least one of them, who joined the household later) but I hope the new owners are more aware of their surroundings.

In the meantime, I'm working on getting by and welcoming early spring weather. Also getting a few estimates next week for a new furnace. My present one is 28 years old, and I had plans on replacing it at about this point. It's a pricey job, and I'm only lucky I've been able to save some money for it.

What this boils down to is dealing with uncertainty, and life's looking more uncertain over the next few months. My response has been a renewed resolved to hit the cushion more often, as in every night, instead of just three nights a week. There really is no time like the present. It's all we have.

2011 In Movies

I'm a little later than usual this year, but it's time to recap the 2011 movies I saw. Usually I restrict it to what I saw in the theater, but this year, I'm including some films I saw by DVD or Blu-Ray disc. If it was released in 2011, and I managed to see it, it gets reviewed!

So here we go.

Hall Pass

The Farrelly Brothers' comedy with Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis, about a couple of harried husbands who get the nominal document from their wives, which entails permission to have sex with any one they want for a weekend. This film was actually a friend's idea on a chilly February Saturday. Not the Farrellys' best (that distinction still goes to Kingpin...see it if you haven't yet) but there were some funny moments, notably the hot tub scene.

The Fighter

Actually a late 2010 film which won a couple of Oscars, Best Supporting Actor nods for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. Both give the film's best performances, Bale as Micky Ward, a promising young talent who never did realize his potential, and Leo as his domineering mother. A true story hook always pulls me in a bit further. Bale reminds you how completely he can transform as an actor.

Sucker Punch

Who knew Zack Snyder could follow up Watchmen with such a dud? It's all surface and not much substance. I've read a reviewer or two try to salvage the film, but it just makes me laugh. Despite the special effects, I was bored and waiting impatiently for it to end. I really hope Snyder rebounds with the Superman reboot he's currently working on.

Hanna

The thinking man's action film. Joe Wright directs his young star, Saoirse Ronan, whom he directed just as ably in Atonement. She's the daughter of an ex-CIA agent, played by Eric Bana, and they live in the frozen desert of northern Finland. He's trained her to be a killing machine, with some help from some genetic tinkering, revealed later in the film. Wright takes the film all over Europe and Africa, and throws in a pulsing electronic soundtrack. I enjoyed the travelogue feel while waiting for the next close call in Hanna's odyssey.

The Devil's Double

Another true story about the man who was the body double for one of Saddam Hussein's sons. It's a harrowing, front-seat account of the madness going on in the Iraqi dictator's family during his time in power. Dominic Cooper's star continues it's slow rise with this performance in a dual role, as both the real son, and the man who impersonated him.

Limitless

I liked Bradley Cooper in the Hangover films, but this is the one where he shows he can be a real lead in a movie. It's about a writer who can't finish a novel, and is a general failure in life, acquiring a new drug that is intended to harness much more of the brain's intellectual ability. He finishes the novel, watches it become a huge success, and goes on to prove his mettle in the financial field as well. Of course, it's all too good to be true, and we watch the fascinating unraveling in the second half. A good, tense script, and a nicely modulated performance from the lead.

Thor

I wasn't expecting much from this one, but was pleasantly surprised. Kenneth Branagh, known more for his turns in Shakespeare, directs a film that captures much of the Thor universe without getting too campy. Watching Thor finish off the Frost Giant monster by flying hammer-first through the creature's gaping maw brought back the thrills I used to get reading the comic. I wish there'd been another similarly staged battle later on in the movie, but maybe that's being saved for the Avengers spectacle, opening in May.

X-Men: First Class

Another great superhero turn, a revamping of the X-Men franchise. Smart, retro (it takes place in the 60s), and remarkably well-cast, this outing concerns the origins of Professor X and his initial band of mutants. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy provide the dualistic heart of the film. If they keep making X-films like this, the franchise could go on indefinitely. Nice to see January Jones, a Mad Men cast member, in the role of my favorite female mutant, Emma Frost.

Bridesmaids

A raucous comedy with SNL star Kristen Wiig (who hails from this area) as a woman bemoaning her single status as she prepares to serve as a bridesmaid in someone else's wedding. Some decent laughs as the humor went farther to the edge than a mostly female comedy usually dares to go. Still somewhat lightweight though, and it just reinforces the tired and false message that a woman is ultimately nothing without a man to give her babies.

Tree Of Life

One of my favorites of the year. Brad Pitt is a Texas family man, with Jessica Chastain as his wife, and their three sons. What we get is a meditation on family, life, loss, death, and dinosaurs, in Terence Malick's latest experiment. Malick is always good for at least an interesting time, as well as his transcendent visuals. I loved the film, far more than I did The Thin Red Line, his war movie from 1998. It's visual poetry with sparse dialogue, but the combination speaks volumes. Incredibly moving.

Meek's Cutoff

Another favorite from last year. Michelle Williams is a wagon train wife, part of a group of settlers traveling west in search of a better life. They spy a lone Native on the plains, then eventually capture him, thinking he's warning the rest of his group and they will be slaughtered. They end up depending on his knowledge of the land to survive. It's got an ambiguous ending...we're never told if they make it to water or not...but message is still clear. The rugged desert of the western Midwest is as much a stunning character in this film as any of the humans.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Marvel's getting good at these. Well done adventure yarn, set in World War 2, about the origins of Steve Rogers, the eponymous hero. Joe Johnston, who directed the Rocketeer 20 years earlier, evokes the period nicely. The action hardly lets up, and it stoked my anticipation for the Avengers movie.

Moneyball

Brad Pitt again, this time as the general manager of the Oakland A's a decade ago, and how he instituted a numbers-based system for building a competitive baseball team. The system almost succeeded. Jonah Hill gives a nicely understated performance as the statistical wizard who helps Pitt's Billy Bean character build an unlikely playoff team.

Hugo

Martin Scorsese's at it again, crafting a fine period piece with fantastic flourishes, about an orphan who lives in a Paris train station tending the clocks. He wants to somehow restart an animatronic doll that his father was working on, to find out its secrets. Along the way, Scorsese treats us to a cinematic history lesson regarding Georges Melies, the man who made some of the earliest films ever, over a century ago. It was a great holiday movie, with history, magic, and a big heart. Marty's getting up there in age, and I'll miss him when he's gone.

War Horse

Spielberg's latest, about a Devon farmboy's horse shipped off to the trenches of France during World War I. I was hoping for a little Saving Private Ryan realism, doughboy style, but you only get a taste of that toward the end. Still, it was a very emotional story of human and animal, friends through thick and thin, surviving and reuniting amid the chaos of war. I heard much sobbing as the lights rose. Spielberg kept it fairly simple, and largely avoided the sentimentality he can be prone to.

Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are back as the famous crime-solving duo from Victorian England. All of the pieces are there from the first film, but I wasn't as fond of this one. I think my favorite character is still Gladstone, Watson's bulldog, but there seemed to be less of him this time. This is a far more action-oriented version of the character than what I'm used to seeing. They should probably quit at two.

Hangover Part 2

Saw this last night on Blu-Ray. I'm not sure a sequel was necessary, though I did find a few good laughs. More of an amusement park ride than a film, really, but sometimes that's all I need. The sultry Bangkok atmosphere helped me forget the chilly night outside.

That's 2011 in films. I'm hoping to get to the theaters soon and get started on 2012. There's much to look forward to, other than the Avengers, and The Dark Knight Rises. I hope you find some good stories at the movies this year as well.