Children of Men.

we went to see Children of Men last friday. for those who don't know, it's a dystopian vision of britian in 2027 after 18 years of unexplained human infertility and the effective collapse of civilization as we know it. clive owen plays the main character, a rumpled cynic who ends up trying to save a young woman who is "miracuously" pregnant from anyone and everyone who wants to use her pregnancy for their own personal gain.

i thought it was a really great movie. i'm really disappointed neither of the two lead actors has gotten any recognition this awards season, because they both definitely deserve it. do, however, ignore any other reviews of this movie that talk about clive owen's character's "transformation." he never really transforms. he basically has pretty strong principles, and he doesn't have any time for bullshit. that's not to say there's no character development, but you ust get the feeling that he goes about his life doing what he has to do. in the beginning, that's working a shit job, trying to avoid terrorist bombings, and getting stoned. when he meets the pregnant claire-hope ashitey (who really deserves at least a nomination), that means keeping her and her unborn baby safe. basically, the whole movie is him doing what he feels he has to do and not putting up with bullshit, no matter how crazy and disgusting and violent it gets.

and it does get violent. as we were walking out of the theatre, he commented to me, "this is the type of movie you'd study in film class." and he's right. alfonso cuarón has done an excellent job with this movie. except for two really glaring continuity errors, you get the feeling like this is a movie where nothing is onscreen by accident. even when blood gets splashed on the camera lense and stays there for the whole take, it doesn't look like a mistake. neither does it look like a self-concious breaking of the fourth wall; it's more, in my mind at least, almost like a sign of intimacy.

some parts of the movie are funny, and ultimately it ends on a note of hope, but it's not a happy movie. and it's never going to be a mainstream smash hit. it reminds me a little bit of Gattaca, in a way. like gattaca, it's a dystopic vision of the not-too-far-awayfuture. in 5 years, it'll be mentioned in cautionary postings by slashdotters. but i would definitely recommend seeing it. am i still using carrots? 3 1/2 carrots.

delayed arrival.

global warming, el nino, whatever. this has been a very warm winter. but now it seems as though the cold has finally arrived: we have had our first real snowfall. a light coating, less than an inch. but still, everything is white and quiet. perfect for christmas, really.

and i get to walk to work in it.

modern living.

for the first time in 5 years, we now have health insurance. this is very weird. and expensive.

also, for the first time ever, i have to administer my own insurance. this means apparently calling numbers and tracking down things like prescription drug coverage, and pointing out to people that 10/10 and 10/01 are two different dates.

i have the feeling i will spend the next week or so in a state of mild confusion. although looking at the so-called health insurance industry, if i only spend a week in a state of mild confusion, i'll have gotten off lightly.

working thoughts.

this came to me this morning. the office of our "business development manager" (read: salesman) is just around the corner from mine, and i can hear most of his phone conversations.

reason #527 that i will never be able to be in sales: i am incapable of using the word "synergies" in an unironical fashion.

ringing in the new year.

and i'm sick. dammit. woke up this morning with a wonderful sore, swollen throat and a sinus headache. so maybe the new work year will get off to a later start.

probably going out without a coat in the cold drizzle to watch the fireworks last night didn't help matters. but, you know, it's new year's eve, your coat is buried somewhere with everyone else's and it's not your apartment, so after watching the ball drop in times square on tv, we all rushed outside to catch the fireworks at penn's landing. and now the virus is happy.

happy new year, indeed. hope no one else is sick.