the list of now

Waste of talent. Waste of time. Terrible movie.

It might have been salvageable and decently fun, had the entire movie been about Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s characters. Maybe not. Maybe I could just watch Ryan Gosling do anything

The directing alternated between boring and weird. The writing was way too trite to take itself this seriously (or was it even more trite that it did take itself this seriously?)

Also, congrats on the barely having one likeable (Emma Stone) female character, who only has 3 scenes in the movie while the rest of them were portrayed as some combination of crazy, cheating, weak or stupid.

The first thing that struck me about this compact, yet ambitious solo performance show was how nicely it teeters on the edge between camp and sincerity. Writer and performer Leigh Hendrix moves between characters effortlessly. An intense motivational speaker, an awkwardly wavering performance artist and an earnest young lesbian, coming to terms with coming out – all characters who demand, one way or another, for an audience to take them seriously.

Now, I have seen a lot of shows completely crumble under that kind of premise, because it’s incredibly hard to walk that line between over-the-top and some kind of statement about something as complicated as sexual identity without ultimately taking yourself too seriously. I’ve seen productions with great potential wilt under the weight of attempting to be clever.

Not this one. This one just really works. And it’s genuinely funny.

I think what makes is so enjoyable is a kind of straightforwardness and clarity, brought by a solid script that never gets too heavy, but manages to be relatable and compelling anyway. Great direction (Peter Deffet) also goes a long way by adding a bit of a wink and a nod to the humor already in the script. The audience is invited in on the joke and led by the blocking, in the way her characters address and approach the audience and her physicality.

The Artists’ Exchange is a great venue for this – cozy little black box, but with excellent seating. It is intimate without being uncomfortable. Leigh Hendrix uses the space really well. Her movement keeps the pace of the show quite nicely. And I think this was one of the only times in recent history when I didn’t absolutely cringe when a performer came into the audience.

When the show ends, you’ve laughed a lot, but hopefully also noticed more than a few questions that are neatly tucked into the performance. The imprint of them lingers on you when you leave. If you identify as a queer woman, you might find yourself benchmarking your own experiences and identity markers against her lesbian characters and playful stereotypes and finding a lot of familiarity there. If you aren’t, I imagine this show will certainly have you contemplating your perceptions of what queer female sexuality looks and acts like.

(In case you are wondering, that list at the end? The one with everything you need to know in order to be a lesbian? Completely true.)

How To Be a Lesbian in 10 Days or Less will be at the Artists’ Exchange in Cranston, RI again this weekend from September 29th – October 1st.  For ticket information or to learn about upcoming performances in Myrtle Beach SC, NYC and beyond – check out the “Performances” page on the show’s website.

If you want to know more about Leigh Hendrix, you can check out her website and read my recent interview Seven Questions With Theatre Artist and Professional Lesbian, Leigh Hendrix.

I went into this movie expecting to have fun watching it, good or bad and I am pleased to say that I really did.

Self-aware and meta to the point of self-obsession, the writing as the plot winds-up was either intentionally campy and over-the-top OR a really half-assed hack job.  It turned out to not matter all that much, especially because it was genuinely quite funny. While there were several moments during the first 45 minutes when I wondered what it was intended to be, in the second act it tightened considerably and by the time I was watching the conclusion unravel, I no longer cared.

The ending delivered nearly as much as the original Scream, which I consider a classic (albeit a relic) of the 90′s.  This fourth installment may be a cliche sequel moneygrab, but unlike nearly other franchise piece for which this is true, Scream 4 might be completely aware of that.  Intentionally or not, it managed to remix itself into a punchy, fun and effective commentary on the entertainment industry and our times.

Finally got around to watching this on dvd last night.

Jeff Bridges was excellent because Jeff Bridges is always excellent, but I thought it was a fairly mediocre movie about someone who isn’t very interesting or compelling.

In fact, I enjoyed this movie much more when it was done a couple years ago with Mickey Rourke instead of Jeff Bridges and it was about wrestling instead of country music.  All the rest of the details were largely interchangeable and more or less the same, except The Wrestler wasn’t pretty.  It was bleak as hell, and it was a far superior film.

For a movie titled Crazy Heart, it had neither.  Despite Jeff Bridges embodying that character with his absolute best, what he had to work with wasn’t a complex enough character to carry the entire movie.    The writing wasn’t there, and glossing up the film didn’t help.

I am disappointed to find this to be so very “meh”.

Let me preface this by saying that I am not a video game person, per se, nor a person who runs out and buys the newest pricey gadgets.   I have never owned an ipod (opting for less expensive alternatives) and my cell phone doesn’t have a little keyboard or anything schmancy.   First off, I usually can’t afford these little luxuries and secondly, I usually just don’t find them to be a priority when I do have the money, although I respect that many people do.

We have two gaming systems in our house.  One original NES, for nostalgia and the vain hopes that we can someday get it to work properly.  One original Playstation, in working condition.  Both were given to us.  We own about 3 games for each.  I think the max we’ve spent in total is less than $25 dollars.

Let me also say that I’m not good at video gaming.  Sincerely, it’s great fun for me, but I’m not good at any of it.  I don’t know why, I just lack some kind of basic coordination.  (Ask Kally about playing Mario Kart with me if you need proof of this.)

So having said all that, you understand that I don’t take it lightly when I tell you that I am seriously considering buying an Xbox 360.

The practical reason behind this, is that we have canceled our cable and now get no TV reception.  Xbox 360 has the digital cability of streaming TV from netflix and other sources directly to the TV and this would be convenient.

The complete bullshit, but more truthful reason is that I’ve fallen in love.  With this game:

I played it with one of my favorite Chicagolandians, Josh, while we were out there for Christmas.  I’m not joking when I say that I’ve never seen anything like it.  And that it was complete love-at -first training level.  And -shocker- I’m ACTUALLY good at it.  I found a kind of rhythm with it and for the first time ever with a game, didn’t suck.   We were taking turns and at a certain point, Josh actually gave me the controller back to get us past a certain level!!! Flash back to being 7 and endlessly having to give up my controller and Luigi to my best buddy, for her to get me past the ice level or one of the harder firecastles… my inner 7 year old REJOICES in Mirror’s Edge!

It’s a parkour inspired action game.   It’s set in a massive abandoned cityscape that resembles Tokyo, from what I’ve seen in photos – kind of hyper-modern, all glass and industrial.  (parts of NYC as well, but it’s altogether too modern to be NYC).

Like Tomb Raider, you are mostly alone and wandering around in puzzles, looking for where to go, how to get there and clues and hidden things.   Unlike Tomb Raider, you are on rooftops, scaling concrete and shimmying down balconies and drain pipes, leaping skyscrapers and wall-jumping.   You are surrounded by the sights and sounds of being far above the earth in a city.

It’s remarkably zen for an action game.  The music, the design – really the (for lack of a better word) cinematography – of the entire “production” is straight-up dreamy.  It’s beyond photo-realistic.  It’s like surrealist-film scape.  As if you were playing inside a film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet or Guillermo Del Toro.* That pretty and insane.

Anyone who knows me, knows about my lifelong obsession with rooftops.  This game is a very close and surreal stand-in, recalling the magic of my real-life obsession and energy spike that comes from being up high, looking out over views.  It is utterly and breathtakingly beautiful.

Observe:

((drool)).

I’m in withdrawl.

I’ve been having dreams of running up the sides of walls and being chased through abandoned office buildings, with anime hair and really nice boots.

So that’s my officially mushy, gushy review of one of the most impressive video games ever.   Go read some other review if you want to hear about the action, the shooting, and the storyline.  I will stick with the “game pretty – girl pretty – addictive to play” base line of review here.

Linkage:

The official website.   For trailers, more screenshots etc.

The trailer on youtube in HD (I would almost say don’t bother watching it, if you can’t watch in HD)

*Addendum.  After writing this, I thought about this comparison and realized it wasn’t really expressing what I wanted to say.  It’s about otherworldliness, but also a self-contained universe or playing field.  Surreal, yet hyper-real.  Exaggerated.  So I came up with a new comparison that fits much better – the feeling of moving around in the game is as if Run Lola Run was set in a more futurist-modern urban environment, was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet or Guillermo del Toro and you (as Lola) could run up walls, scale buildings and jump across rooftops.  There.  Much better.  Just like that.