Music From Seven Samurai
Because the theme song to Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece is awesome…
Akira Kurosawa 100th
If he had lived this long, today would be famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s 100th birthday. As you know, if you’ve been following me on twitter, TCM has been showing his films every Tuesday of the month. Tonight’s Seven Samurai, a film I regard as one of the best ever made and one of my 5 favorites of all time. Earlier this month, I also caught Ikiru, also pretty awesome, and caught up with Akahige (Red Beard), a feudal drama.
There is something about Kurosawa that I can’t really express. His films I love. The most famous actors he collaborated with, Toshiro Mifune and Takeshi Shimura, I too love. His stories, re-telling Shakespeare. His samurai epics. His crime thrillers. His humanism. Great, great stuff from a master of cinema. In the pantheon of great directors, he has got to be amongst the best of the best. He’s influenced me and I don’t even direct movies.
Happy Birthday to the Emperor, Akira Kurosawa! Celebrate by watching something he directed.
Rockin’ the new strings
Epiphone ES-335
Quote of the Day [3.22.10]
“[T]he emotional core of opposition to reform was blatant fear-mongering, unconstrained either by the facts or by any sense of decency.”
Paul Krugman, “Fear Strikes Out” NY Times, Monday March 22, 2010
Bracket Has Ceased
Darn! And we only just begun. It looks the way I filled out my bracket is just like burning money. You have any money I can burn, too.
UPDATE: 8:47 PM
Not completely blown up, but if that G’town-Ohio score holds up that might just sink the ship right there. G’town. How phony! CapSwell why did you trick me?
Oh yeah, just as I said yesterday? F’ the Irish!
UPDATE: 10:32 PM
I can’t watch anymore. My hearts all a flutter. Just lose. Just win. Just keep that bracket going.
CapSwell laments not rooting for his team. It’s because you can’t be too emotional to make your picks. You just have to be cold, calculating. That way you can say it was the numbers that made you fill out your bracket that way. Here’s hoping CapSwell’s other brackets are doing alright.
She’s Out of Your League
She’s Out of Your League makes explicit the conceit of the Macho Chick Flick: “How does he end up with her?” It’s right there in the title. A hottie, 10, hooks takes out the nerdly 5, they hit it off, and believe that they are right for each other. Will they believe to make it right? Will their friends spoil it? Are they really meant for each other? And can a 5 make himself into an 8 to get close enough to dating a 10?
Of course, it rom-com land, they end up together. The reason to watch is to find out what their obstacles are.
I like Jay Baruchel. He starred in the underappreciated Apatow tv show, Undeclared. It reminded me of college at the U, and that was 7 years out ten years ago. Yet, he is pretty much annoying here. He’s too nerdly. No girl would dig that. When you think of him that way, then he was perfect for the role.
This movie falls into the Apatow, guy rom-com except that it didn’t have any of his repertoire company except for Baruchel. I kept trying to figure out which character would be played by an Apatow member. There’s a Jonah Hill/Seth Rogan guy, the fast talking friend. There’s a Jason Segal role and a Paul Rudd role. It seemed like the producers scrimped on the stars and with second rate actors.
Alice Eve is attractive. But she’s not the hottest girl out there. I wonder if that was the way it was supposed to be.
2 of 5 stars.
Deep Thoughts Vol. LXCMXXIV
On the drive home tonight, I listened to the radio. Tuned into the local classic rock station which was celebrating music from 1983. Said music is classic rock like classic rock was when I was in high school. 20+ years to the music of the 80s just as back in the 80s it was 20+ years to the Beatles, the Stones and the Who.
Hey! Beer here!
IMG_2059
Originally uploaded by felixdaacat.
Looking at the Orioles and hoping that spring training is going to be nothing like the regular season. Except the bats. Not the pitching. And definitely not the losing.
Anyway. I was searching for spring training pictures and came across this set from last season’s penultimate game. We were at this game. So let’s play, “Where’s BrowserMetrics?” Squint real hard and find us.
And the Oscar went to…
The preliminary count of the winner of the BrowserMetrics Oscar Pool in Imax 3D. I still have to tabulate the votes and make sure that my math is correct. Or I can look at the Seeds count.
Looks to be Jeremy Benthem aka The Seed.
I actually got the most points but I am ineligible for the prize.
I’d like to thank you, my participants, for making this fun. It’s you who make it all worth while.
UPDATE 12:34 AM EST
I think this is the final correct tally.
BrowserMetrics 37
Jeremy Bentham 33
Wyman Lee 30
Riss 25
Marge 23
CapSwell 22
Akeshia 22
Annie 22