The things they carried
I saw two sweet movies in a row: The Darjeeling Limited (showing only at Greenbelt 3), and Juno (showing everywhere).
The Darjeeling Limited is another trip into the stylish artificial universe of Wes Anderson. Every time I watch a Wes Anderson movie, I wish I had his characters’ problems. (Although I Was the Jason Schwartzman character in Rushmore.) No one ever worries about the bills, they just have elliptical conversations and dissociate from reality.
Everyone I know who’s seen it ranks its stars this way: 1. Adrien Brody, 2. Jason Schwartzman, and 3. Owen Wilson (whose head is bandaged throughout the movie, reminding everyone of his suicide attempt). You figure out what the ranking is for.
I enjoyed the movie, but it seems the filmmakers went to a lot of trouble—having Marc Jacobs design the matching luggage, hauling it to India—just to say, “Guys, you need to get rid of your emotional baggage.†Recovery time: 0. Nothing to recover from, unless you have luggage envy. Although I did contract LSS and have “Play With Fire” by the Rolling Stones in my head. Which reminds me that “Ruby Tuesday” was in The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, so I hear the two tracks alternately.
Juno is not bad, but it’s no Superbad. Recovery time: 30 minutes, but only to get over the cute cloyingly obvious soundtrack.
Breaking news. In Juno, the title character listens to Sonic Youth’s cover of “Superstar” by The Carpenters. Well President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo just sang The Carpenters’ “I Have You” with Richard Carpenter and Claire dela Fuente in Malacanang. There’s some weird synchronicity here. Maybe we should imagine GMA singing “Don’t you remember you told me you love me babeeeh. . .” But in Thurston Moore’s voice. Please.
Great quote from I don’t remember whom: “If Karen Carpenter and not Mama Cass Elliot had eaten that ham sandwich, they would both be alive today.”
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
February 15th, 2008 at 03:17
im hooked on the french music Jason Schwartzman kept on playing in his ipod..
hanep.. Joe Dassin
February 15th, 2008 at 15:53
I’m a bit embarrassed to say this, but i watched and, surprisingly, enjoyed, Juno last night. I was fully expecting to hate it (my niece tricked me into watching it). Sweet, yes, I agree. But it was ellen page that really rocked me. How could such a performance come from someone as young as she? I loved the movie, altnough I probably won’t recomend it to my friends.
They might think something is wrong with me.
February 15th, 2008 at 17:20
Yup…Juno’s local release should serve as counter-programming to the likes of BFGF and Jumper.
Oh nga…it really freaked to hear that Richard Carpenter came to our shores just to duet with PGMA. Shades of the Imeldificness and Van Cliburn.
Btw…what did you think of the Juno soundtrack? Loved the inclusion of Belle and Sebastian…but did I hear some bossa nova during the transitions?? I thought I’d already had it up to here with bossa nova, I’m going to go all Samuel L. Jackson if I hear Astrud Gilberto on the tannoy again
February 16th, 2008 at 19:12
I love this book. I can’t remember how he said this but “the things they carried are determined by their rank… and the weight of memory and the weight of one another…” The most horrifying part for me was not about that boy who was blown to smithereens while singing “up in the lemon tree” as it ought to be, but the part where they spent the torrential night bivouacked in the village toilet.