2.28.2006

One thing that has always intrigued me was the way email services (Yahoo, hotmail, whatever) sort through your mail and determine what is junk and goes to the 'Bulk' folder.

I have two things I get daily in my email: Campus News and a Word of the Day (I think it's through Webster). On the large scale, I open maybe, maybe 1 in 10 of the Campus News - deleting the rest. However, I always open my WotD and read it.

A few days ago Yahoo!, being the genius mail provider it is, began sending my WotD (which I always read) to my junk mail, yet it leaves my Campus News in the regular folder. Even more odd is the fact I've been getting (and rarely opening) Campus News for 3 years and WotD for maybe 3 months.

So sure, I can click "Not Spam" on the WotD and it will probably fix it, but the logic of the sorting program seems a bit messed up in the first place. I don't think it will ever be perfected.

Continue reading...

Tonight I watched 'Kill Bill: Volume 1' for the first time in maybe half a year. Something I noticed that annoyed me was that when Uma Thurman goes to whats-her-name's house in the beginning to kill her, she (Vernita Green?) is wearing tennis shoes while indoors/at home. This is noticeable once the glass table shatters and all the shit is on the floor and they walk across it numerous times.

Obviously Uma would be wearing shoes, but I think it's safe to assume Vernita had been home for a while for a few reasons:

A) She was expecting someone named 'Sarah' when it was in fact The Bride at the door.
B) She's now married to a Doctor and it seems like she would be the stay-at-home type.
C) There's no mention of her having a new job or anything to do during the day.
D) She was probably waiting for her daughter to come home.

With that in mind, why the hell was she wearing tennis shoes inside? No one does that, especially when there's an abundance of carpet in your house. Slippers, maybe, but tennis shoes? Come on.

It's small details like these that are usually undetected cop-outs in Tarantino movies. He omits the reality of a small detail (the shoes) in order to play up a different small detail (the shattered glass on the floor). I'm definitely nitpicking here, but things like this get to me after a while, and are one of the reasons why I think Tarantino's writing will always be his stronger characteristic (moreso than directing).

Continue reading...

2.27.2006

I've had a more in-depth post about the Oscars up on my MySpace for a while now, but here is how I expect the thing to play out on the 5th.

Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Best Director: Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man)
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain
Best Original Screenplay: Crash
Best Animated Film: Wallace and Gromit
Best Art Direction: Memoirs of a Geisha
Best Cinematography: Brokeback Mountain
Best Costume Design: Memoirs of a Geisha
Best Editing: Crash
Best Make Up: The Chronicles of Narnia
Best Score: Brokeback Mountain

The other catagories I really don't care too much about. There's a couple big DVD-prize contests going around, so if you wanna make some predictions and have a chance for a prize, check out: WoKJ and eFilmCritic.

Personally I thought 'Crash' was the most enjoyable flick on the list. All the Best Pic nominees were outstanding, each in their own ways. I liked 'Capote' but I can't imagine watching it more than once every 6 months or so - same with 'Good Night' and 'Munich.' I think I'm going to watch 'Brokeback' a second time before the big night, and I've seen 'Crash' probably 4-5 times. Either way I'm optimistic that this year will be better than last, mostly because Jon Stewart is hosting, but also because I saw nearly all the movies (still need to see 'Hustle & Flow' and 'Transamerica'), unlike last year - I didn't bother seeing MDB, then once it won I felt like a jackass.

And that, as they say, is that.

Continue reading...