Don't you hate those movies that have characters that tell you how they're going to finish, but they don't say they are going to finish, but then they finish that way? It's a little predictable. In Bruges is one of those movies, but it was awesome. Better than The Departed. I stand by that - you have to stick to your principles. It's better, because it has actual real actors and the story is a little easier to follow.
The movie opens with a narration by Colin Farrell, an actor I had managed to avoid on screen until now. I thought the narration was a big mistake. I was wrong, it just takes a little getting used to that guy's voice. The movie also stars Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes whom I haven't seen since The White Countess. I also saw him in The Constant Gardener, a novel by John Le Carré. I happen to be reading another book by Le Carré called Absolute Friends, the first book I've read since I was in Mexico many, many tequila-filled years ago. And the movie also stars that guy from The Stationmaster and Elf. I thought so but not really.
I guess even hitmen have jobs they don't like. You know like some people do jobs because they have to, or they feel they have to. I do accounts because I can make numbers sing and because I happen to like it. I always thought being a hitman would be a job like that because really, you don't ever have to do that job. This movie is about a couple of hitmen who are starting to not like their jobs anymore. Ray (Farrell) and Steve (Gleeson) are sent to Bruges by their boss to lay low for awhile. Apparently, their boss likes Bruges and doesn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to see it before they die. Harry thinks Bruges is like a fairy tale, or more precisely like a dream sequence - dum dum dum. Steve and Ray talk about how being in Bruges is a little "over-elaborate" as though elaborate is just normal for these guys. Harry (Fiennes), calls later to let Steve know that he has to kill his friend, Ray. Steve doesn't want to do it, but Ray messed up a job and killed a young boy as well as his intended target. Kids are a no-go for Harry and that kind of mistake doesn't go unpunished.
Steve is conflicted because he doesn't agree with Harry, and wants to let Ray correct the situation his own way. Ray is torn because he killed a little boy and doesn't think he's good enough to walk on earth anymore. I was kind of like that the other day. I was looking after Foxy, and I took my eye off of her for ten seconds because I also just happened to be trying to kill someone. Next thing I heard was Foxy's skull bouncing off the UPS. No problem, what I actually heard was the UPS knocking against the desk, and the bump on Foxy's head probably wasn't that bad. What freaked me out was not the crying, but the mark the UPS left on Foxy's temple. In med school, I saw a lot of head wounds but we never really looked at pediatrics. I actually thought maybe I'd cracked her occular cavity and that she might go blind, or that she might have concussion. I felt pretty bad, like badder than bad. Like Ray. But it turned out to be nothing. Ali sobbed and made me swear never to play Silent Assassin again. We didn't go to the hospital. There wasn't much swelling and a little mauve bruise on Foxy's temple, but she's fine.
I wanted to go see this movie with Randy, but he bailed because he's committed to bootcamp, and I recently let him know that I can't keep him occupied while his fiancée has her hen party. A party that Ali was requested to attend, requested vigourously but she declined because she's afraid of schlong and strippers, and also because her parents are coming in that day. So by consequence, I can't mind Randy because I too have to meet with the inlaws.
Harry becomes infuriated with Steve and travels to Bruges to sort things. Steve is tired of fighting and refuses to defend himself. Instead of killing Steve, Harry the snivelling rat shoots Steve in the leg, and then later again in the neck. Back to the beginning for a second, Ray meets a film tech, and ends up having a little fun with Chloe. Chloe is working on a film that features Jordan Prentice. Ray is fascinated by midgets and dwarves and despite inappropriate behaviour he manages to make friends with Jimmy the actor. Jimmy's in town filming a dream sequence.
Steve goes and gets the gun to kill Ray, and in a little bit of the surreal much like a lot of my life, the hitman ends up giving the arms dealer an English lesson. Steve goes to kill Ray and catches Ray trying to kill himself which he won't let him do. He also won't kill his quirky friend Ray and sends him off on a train instead. Previously, while on a date with Chloe Ray gets into it with a tourist who really, honestly was asking for it. Harry has gone to the arms dealer and obtained a gun and some "Dumb Dumbs", essentially incendiary bullets that explode after entry. On the train out of Bruges, Ray is spotted by police and sent back to Bruges. Steve doesn't know this and tells Harry that Ray is gone like my hair. Harry finds out that Ray is in Bruges, which makes Steve look like a liar so Harry shoots him in the neck and goes after Ray who happens to be very close by. Steve jumps off the belltower where he was shot because he can't chase after Harry but gets Ray's attention. Harry chases Ray back to their hotel where Steve has stashed a revolver, and the two of them end up in a stand off. Ray and Harry strike a gentlemen's agreement, but Ray is unable to escape and is again chased around Bruges with varying gunshot wounds. They stumble across the film set, and Jimmy recognizes his friend. He advances toward Ray, putting himself in the line of fire and ends up getting his head blown clear off. Special bullets. His costume makes it appear as though he is a little boy, and Harry thinks he has done the one thing that a killer should never do, so he blows his own head off. A little predictable at this point and kinda cheesy. The exact ending is unclear, which is what saves this film just as you think it's going to shit. Constant rips on Belgium and comparisons to Hell, and one jab at Tottenham Hotspur which only two people in the audience caught - me and the guy next to me - keep levity moving in the film. In fact, there was quite a lot of laughing in the audience. Not really something you expect in a movie about baby killers.
On the way out of the theatre, I bumped into one of the three people I had to fire a while back. It's a little odd the amount of people I bump into. All I can say is... awkwaaard! We kept it civil. She just finished watching No Country for Old Men which is high on my list. I didn't stick around to chit chat though. I hurried home, helped give the baby a bath and do this blog thing. It was a good evening.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Rare Moment
So it's like this: The new job is working out well, though not as well as I would have hoped. I normally would have wanted to be at this point two months ago, but I am literally having to learn things from scratch, despite the cursory training back in the beginning. I am now the second highest paid person in the company, which is a first, even though I'm earning less than the company initially promised. I don't care, I have insurance now!
Who knew I would have to fire my supervisor after only 30 days in? The company is doing a lot better than it was before. Before, they had no cash control, no cash budget - nothing. In fact, the accountant was encouraged not to discuss money with the president. I just found out today that the company hasn't filed a tax return in two years. This was an embarrassment, not only because I found out from the IRS - but because the former accountant never mentioned it. I used to know a guy who became a CPA, and everyone who knew him never knew how he did it. We just shook our heads. Well, now I know another person who should probably reconsider her career choice. I was so glad to see the back of her on her final day, but unfortunately she popped in around Christmas with some chocolates.
And now the movie review. By far the best movie I saw in 2007, best because Ali really liked it too. It's not often we both like a movie and make some sort of personal connection to the movie. That movie is Linda Linda Linda, a movie I saw on the shelf, like so many others and had meant to rent it but never got around to it until November, was it? Also because any film with school girls on the box is generally a no-no for me.
I tried so hard to remember the details, but I just can't anymore. I'll give a general overview. Duna Bae stars as Son, the Korean exchange student who just can't seem to fit in at her school. It also stars Aki Maeda, Yu Kashii, Shiori Sekine, and Takayo Mimura. I read somewhere that Duna Bae was some sort of model/sex symbol in Korea, but I really don't understand why. Anyway, Kyoko (Maeda), Kei (Kashii), and Nozomi (Sekine) are at a short end because the lead singer for their band recently quit to start a solo gig, and they need to find a replacement before the year-end school concert. They make a pact that the next person who they bump into will be the new singer. Son walks by, and a deal is a deal. They grab her and convince her to join the band. They don't have any material yet, but one of the girls pulls an old Blue Hearts tape out of a drawer and it's decided. They give Son the lyrics, and it turns out she's a bit of a closet diva. She goes to a karaoke bar after school and gets comfortable with her voice, and her Japanese.
The movie unfolds with a few confrontations with their former singer, school stuff, and preparations for the year-end thingy which looks to me like a big contest to see which group of kids can sell the most junk. The girls look to another student who used to play music and she gives them some guidance. Rinko (Mimura) is too cool to go back to playing in a group, but they do convince her to play in the concert. The band nearly breaks up, I can't remember why but it comes together at the last possible moment to perform a two song set at the concert. Ali knew the words to both off by heart. Apparently, the Blue Hearts whom I actually have heard about before but in that way that you forget about it until someone brings it up again, were a somewhat influential band that somehow penned a karaoke anthem. Ali says karaoke is just karaoke in Japan until someone sings Linda Linda - and then it's a karaoke party.
For the rest of the night, Ali kept singing the chorus and dancing with Foxy. The second song that the group played is considered somewhat controversial in Japan because it uses a rather nasty word which is understood not to be said in polite company. Even in English it's a bit harsh, but it took me a long time to figure it out because the subtitles kept translating it as ass, and in that way the subtitles didn't quite make sense. Ali sings that one too, but not too often. It's a song for teens and young adults who are mad at the world. The next day, Ali went rummaging through all her minidiscs and found a copy of a Blue Hearts album. Pretty much for the next week, it was the only music in the house. See this film. If it doesn't make you smile, you're stone. Bloody stone, man.
Foxy is preparing for her faith healing tour. Yeah, yeah I know. It's sacrilegious and whatever but really they're all fake so it's really fake sacrilege to make fun of them. Except Peter Popoff, because he's real. Really. Foxy likes to swat at people and smack them in the face like a faith healer, and then make loud Foxy Talk (registered trademark) so it makes me laugh. She constantly rips off my glasses as though she is trying to cure my myopia. Actually Foxy was in the hospital a few days after Christmas with a bit of a fever. We decided to do nothing because she was running only slightly higher than normal temps, but then I realized that these were normal adult temps. What if my baby was actually cooking her brain and we did nothing to stop it? We went to the hospital and we waited. We were moved to an examination room and then the real waiting started. It turns out that we were right to come in when we did. Her temp was right on the lower margin of concern. The nurse was really cool, and I nearly sold her a car. "Do you actually DRIVE a Volkswagen or do you just wear the hat?" was her question. I could tell by the look on her face that it was an honest question. It turns out she's a big Volkswagen fan and I told her how great my new car is and some of the incentives the local dealership is offering. I think she went out the next day and bought one. Anyway, because of Foxy's young age, the hospital has a "policy" of running urine tests to check for bladder infections. We had to wait for Foxy to pee. That took a long time. Say what you want about the state of health care today, but the folks at Children's Hospital of New Jersey took really good care of us. I would never expect free sandwiches from Starbucks and beverages at any other hospital. Parking killed me though. I kept plugging the meter every hour because I was trying to be optimistic. I would have been better off getting the overnight rate. It paid for itself after four hours. We were there for five. The initial test came back inconclusive (I think), so the nurse explained to us that she was going to have to get the sample the "other" way. She explained to me, and suggested we take a walk. When we came back, Foxy was okay but a little vulnerable and kind of wondering where Mummy was. They couldn't get the results of the second test back quickly, so they gave us permission to leave and they would call if anything came up. They gave Foxy a new teddy bear and we were gone. Because of all that, and a rather unpleasant experience with the staff at our regular former doctor's office, we have found another doctor. Fluent in Japanese, he's as old as dust but he came out of retirement strictly because there were no other Japanese speaking doctors in the area, and the HMO made it worth his while. Nice guy, really nice guy.
Another post, another visit from the in-laws. This time, they're both coming. They won't be staying for long which I always find a little strange, but they just want to see Foxy again. They miss having foxiness in their lives. And that's how it is.
Who knew I would have to fire my supervisor after only 30 days in? The company is doing a lot better than it was before. Before, they had no cash control, no cash budget - nothing. In fact, the accountant was encouraged not to discuss money with the president. I just found out today that the company hasn't filed a tax return in two years. This was an embarrassment, not only because I found out from the IRS - but because the former accountant never mentioned it. I used to know a guy who became a CPA, and everyone who knew him never knew how he did it. We just shook our heads. Well, now I know another person who should probably reconsider her career choice. I was so glad to see the back of her on her final day, but unfortunately she popped in around Christmas with some chocolates.
And now the movie review. By far the best movie I saw in 2007, best because Ali really liked it too. It's not often we both like a movie and make some sort of personal connection to the movie. That movie is Linda Linda Linda, a movie I saw on the shelf, like so many others and had meant to rent it but never got around to it until November, was it? Also because any film with school girls on the box is generally a no-no for me.
I tried so hard to remember the details, but I just can't anymore. I'll give a general overview. Duna Bae stars as Son, the Korean exchange student who just can't seem to fit in at her school. It also stars Aki Maeda, Yu Kashii, Shiori Sekine, and Takayo Mimura. I read somewhere that Duna Bae was some sort of model/sex symbol in Korea, but I really don't understand why. Anyway, Kyoko (Maeda), Kei (Kashii), and Nozomi (Sekine) are at a short end because the lead singer for their band recently quit to start a solo gig, and they need to find a replacement before the year-end school concert. They make a pact that the next person who they bump into will be the new singer. Son walks by, and a deal is a deal. They grab her and convince her to join the band. They don't have any material yet, but one of the girls pulls an old Blue Hearts tape out of a drawer and it's decided. They give Son the lyrics, and it turns out she's a bit of a closet diva. She goes to a karaoke bar after school and gets comfortable with her voice, and her Japanese.
The movie unfolds with a few confrontations with their former singer, school stuff, and preparations for the year-end thingy which looks to me like a big contest to see which group of kids can sell the most junk. The girls look to another student who used to play music and she gives them some guidance. Rinko (Mimura) is too cool to go back to playing in a group, but they do convince her to play in the concert. The band nearly breaks up, I can't remember why but it comes together at the last possible moment to perform a two song set at the concert. Ali knew the words to both off by heart. Apparently, the Blue Hearts whom I actually have heard about before but in that way that you forget about it until someone brings it up again, were a somewhat influential band that somehow penned a karaoke anthem. Ali says karaoke is just karaoke in Japan until someone sings Linda Linda - and then it's a karaoke party.
For the rest of the night, Ali kept singing the chorus and dancing with Foxy. The second song that the group played is considered somewhat controversial in Japan because it uses a rather nasty word which is understood not to be said in polite company. Even in English it's a bit harsh, but it took me a long time to figure it out because the subtitles kept translating it as ass, and in that way the subtitles didn't quite make sense. Ali sings that one too, but not too often. It's a song for teens and young adults who are mad at the world. The next day, Ali went rummaging through all her minidiscs and found a copy of a Blue Hearts album. Pretty much for the next week, it was the only music in the house. See this film. If it doesn't make you smile, you're stone. Bloody stone, man.
Foxy is preparing for her faith healing tour. Yeah, yeah I know. It's sacrilegious and whatever but really they're all fake so it's really fake sacrilege to make fun of them. Except Peter Popoff, because he's real. Really. Foxy likes to swat at people and smack them in the face like a faith healer, and then make loud Foxy Talk (registered trademark) so it makes me laugh. She constantly rips off my glasses as though she is trying to cure my myopia. Actually Foxy was in the hospital a few days after Christmas with a bit of a fever. We decided to do nothing because she was running only slightly higher than normal temps, but then I realized that these were normal adult temps. What if my baby was actually cooking her brain and we did nothing to stop it? We went to the hospital and we waited. We were moved to an examination room and then the real waiting started. It turns out that we were right to come in when we did. Her temp was right on the lower margin of concern. The nurse was really cool, and I nearly sold her a car. "Do you actually DRIVE a Volkswagen or do you just wear the hat?" was her question. I could tell by the look on her face that it was an honest question. It turns out she's a big Volkswagen fan and I told her how great my new car is and some of the incentives the local dealership is offering. I think she went out the next day and bought one. Anyway, because of Foxy's young age, the hospital has a "policy" of running urine tests to check for bladder infections. We had to wait for Foxy to pee. That took a long time. Say what you want about the state of health care today, but the folks at Children's Hospital of New Jersey took really good care of us. I would never expect free sandwiches from Starbucks and beverages at any other hospital. Parking killed me though. I kept plugging the meter every hour because I was trying to be optimistic. I would have been better off getting the overnight rate. It paid for itself after four hours. We were there for five. The initial test came back inconclusive (I think), so the nurse explained to us that she was going to have to get the sample the "other" way. She explained to me, and suggested we take a walk. When we came back, Foxy was okay but a little vulnerable and kind of wondering where Mummy was. They couldn't get the results of the second test back quickly, so they gave us permission to leave and they would call if anything came up. They gave Foxy a new teddy bear and we were gone. Because of all that, and a rather unpleasant experience with the staff at our regular former doctor's office, we have found another doctor. Fluent in Japanese, he's as old as dust but he came out of retirement strictly because there were no other Japanese speaking doctors in the area, and the HMO made it worth his while. Nice guy, really nice guy.
Another post, another visit from the in-laws. This time, they're both coming. They won't be staying for long which I always find a little strange, but they just want to see Foxy again. They miss having foxiness in their lives. And that's how it is.
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