So, here's a brief movie roundup of some recently seen titles:

The Fountain: I have been waiting for this movie for a long, long, time. I love Darren Aronofsky's films, and I remember reading about this flick back when Brad Pitt was still going to star in it. I kept mostly spoiler-free for this one, but what few details I knew seemed to point to this being THE FILM of the year for me. It seemed tailor-made for my particular sensibilities.

And I'm not sure that it's not... I'll need to see it again. Because this first time, I was... a little disappointed. But I think that was largely caused by the weight of the afore-described expectations. The Fountain is and isn't what I thought it might be. It's beautiful and daring, and well-written. Some people are laughing at it because it dares to be earnest, but I think that's OK. The thing that surprises me the most as I reflect on it is that I never connected with the two main characters in any emotional way. And that bugged me. It frustrated me. I wanted to feel along with the characters, and I just... didn't.

I am not positive that this isn't the desired effect, though. So I need to watch the movie again, and just accept it for what it is, and see how I feel about it.

Tenacious D & The Pick Of Destiny: Saw this last night rather than sit in a snowy commute. You know already if you'll like this. Dig the D? No question, you'll have fun. I loved the crap out of it. I can imagine there's quite a bit of this that will go right over the heads of a lot of people. But I loved it, a LOT.

Deja Vu: And, from the Holy Cow Did This Ever Exceed My Expectations Dept.: Wow! I really enjoyed Deja Vu! It's even well-written, which is shocking because it came from producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("No Cliche Is Too Shallow")! They got Denzel, but they didn't even really need him. He's fine, of course, but it's not the kind of part that really challenges him. There are some sequences in this that are blindingly original, that had me almost clapping out loud they were so cool. And then there's a really pedestrian choice in the final act that kinda disappointed the crap out of me, but it doesn't really mess anything up, and it does work within the time-travel logic set up in the story. I only complain because up until that point the whole flick had been SO well-done, and even innovative that I was bummed to see it "go Hollywood." But you know what, it's a freakin' good time at the movies is what it is, and I heartily recommend it.

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Heading back to the studio tonight, I'm hoping the remnants of last nights mini-snow don't make traffic a nightmare. This is the beginning of what I really, REALLY hope is the last tracking push for the new Half Zaftig album. So that we can mix it in January. And get it out... sometime after that. Send me the good recording vibes, people.

It's been pretty cold around here lately, and apparently tomorrow and Tuesday are going to be even colder, and with the record precipitation we're getting lately (we're closing in on the wettest month in Seattle ever), I guess more of it might end up being snow. Here at sea level, this is a rare occasion indeed.

Now if it starts sticking to the ground, I'll be truly amazed.

If it had fallen in a northerly direction instead of south - if it had been in the middle of the work day...

I don't even want to think about it. Amazingly, somebody who was on the crane when it fell survived.

Now I got the willies.

C'mon, give me a little credit. I have far more important things on my mind.

I have to walk over a block from the parking garage to my office, and today by the time I had made it to the building, me trousers were right well soaked through. Maybe a wetsuit is in order for the rest of the week. Sheesh.

I saw two movies starting with B this weekend - Borat and Babel. Borat was a bizarre combination of incredibly funny and incredibly disturbing. I have to wonder how it's going to play in the heartland.

Babel was also very good, and also disturbing. Shockingly, Brad Pitt actually looked his age in this movie (he's forty-something, right?), and he even acted, too. I like him when he gets the chance to act. The movie is another in a list of movies and TV shows I've seen lately that features extended sequences in foreign locations featuring characters speaking in their actual language, subtitled. There was a lot of this in The Science Of Sleep, and of course whenever they show the backstory of the Korean characters on Lost they nearly always speak Korean. I like this trend, away from just having foreign speakers just speaking accented English. Maybe I'm weird that way, but it makes the characters more real to me.

Anyway, two movies worth your time, if you don't mind challenging stuff. Both flicks are challenging for completely different reasons. If you think this video is funny, then you'll probably like the Borat movie:

The Last Kiss: I remember thinking this movie was way better than I expected it to be. I like Zach Braff as a presence and on Scrubs, though I have to admit that his Garden State doesn't hold up all that well for me, and I get annoyed by the way he's been annointed as the "arbiter of musical taste" for his (my?) generation. Anyway. This, to me, is a far better film than Garden State. Most impressive is the actress who plays Zach's pregnant fiancee, the Australian girl who was on that season of The Real World that was in London. She's got real talent, and really gets a chance to shine in this.

The Departed: I liked The Depahted an awful lot. I'll be shocked if Scorsese doesn't finally get his Best Director Oscar this year - not because this is his best movie, but because it's good enough to justify giving him something for his whole career. For the most paht, this is a rare Hollywood flick about Boston that gets the accents right (except for Martin Sheen, who drifts in and out of it). The script surprised me, too - I didn't forsee some of the plot twists coming. The movie was a "wicked pissah." That means "really good" in Boston-ese. I know, I got lawt-sah relutivs up they-ah.

The Prestige: Much better than that other magic movie, but surprisingly stoic and grim in tone. The "big shocker ending" seemed like it was trying a little too hard to be twisty. But Bale and Jackman rocked. A thinking person's flick that is doing decent box office.

Marie Antoinette: I'm a Sofia Coppola fan, and this flick didn't disappoint. It's amazing that people actually lived like that in history - and that it was an existence that most dreamed of. Being cooped up in Versailles seems like a recipe for crushing boredom to me. Like all of Coppola's films thus far, this is a meditative mood piece. The juxtaposition of 18th century life with current pop music didn't bother me - in fact, when the opening chimes of the Cure's "Plainsong" clanged into the soundtrack, I actually let out a gasp in the theater. South Park is right - Disintegration IS the "best album ever."

Clerks 2: I caught this at the second-run theater for $3. When I heard it was being made I thought there could be no greater example of "a film that does not need to exist", but I was surprised by the final product. I defy anyone who sees it to NOT fall in love with Rosario Dawson (if you weren't already in love with her), and the riffs on Star Wars vs. The Lord Of The Rings and Jay's constant aping of the the killer from The Silence Of The Lambs are hysterical. I still don't know if the movie was "necessary", but I really enjoyed it.