Internal Revenue Service (2008)

Oh man. The first review of a government entity! Not even worth putting verbs in the first two "sentences."
I have some unique tax implications for my 2007 return. For instance I have deductible interest for student loans. I also have some deductible interest for my 401(k). But what is really going to blow my refund out of the water (in a good explosive more cash in my pocket sort of way), is the $2000 bones I get to deduct for renting my Uhaul and moving to Chicago.
But have I really moved here?
Am I really eligible for all that cash back?
Sorta and probably!
It's tricky because the way the rules work depend on how much work you are going to get in the first year of living here. Luckily I've been hired for a project that will last 'til about September. Worst case scenario is that I don't meet that expecation and I have to return that cash.
But anyway here's the part you're all interested in...
Although I had two watch checks on my call to the IRS, in 15 minutes of waiting I finally got to chat with Mrs. Baker. I highly recommend her if you are in the central tax zone. She was super friendly and helped me answer my questions. Just make sure when you call you have a good idea of what you need to know and any pertinent receipts. Luckily I just rely on my asstute memory. Or is it astute: a-s-t-u-t-e. Yes. I think so. Yes.
Really my opinion of the tax code is that if you have a basic level of reading and arithmetic you can do your taxes and save some cash. Unless you have a home, kids, pending divorce, unearned income, or aren't in the bottom tax bracket, you should just do your own taxes. It only takes about an hour.
EDIT: I liken Mrs. Baker's customer service expertise to calling up the little old Bea Arthur lady in your condo of old people and asking for help with your W-2. I'm expecting her to send me rum-raisin oatmeal cookies in an IRS decorative tin (IRS Tin 3210(b)) any day now.

The Power of Nightmares Part II

This is one of three in a BBC series that charts the rise of and similarities between radical Islamists and the neo-conservative political activists. It's presented clearly, chronologically, with fairly entertaining, if random video footage (b-roll) to supplement the interviews. One creepy scene had home video from a car driving around at night in DC in 1991, presumably during the US invasion of Iraq, part I. There was no real point but it was gripping footage, like something was about to blow up.

Anyhow, there are creepy similarities between the politics of fear used by the Islamists and the Neo-cons. Both end up basically hating the populace after their tactics fail. For example, the whole persecution of Bill Clinton for his supposed sex crimes, perjury, whitewater, etc. fit into the Neo-con (and by association, Islamist) agenda by trying to rid the world of a moderate. But in the end, no one really cared enough to impeach him.

The soundtrack is Eno, from Another Green World, which is pretty cool. Those Brits stick together I guess. No watch checks but I was a little tipsy so that.

I think the opening monologue talked about the "myth" of Al Quadae and how it's pumped up by the media. That's probably true but the director Adam Curtis kind of gave it drive-by treatment. I'll go a-looking for the other two DVDs in the series. Rock.

Oh, and there wasn't a single woman interviewed in the hour and a half of dialogue. Probably those Islamists' fault for not recruiting more females, I gather. (sarcasm). Well maybe men did it all -- but not according to Charlie Wilson's War. Julia Roberts character had blood on her manicured hands.

El Orfanato (The Orphanage) 2007

I don't know why I like to be scared, but I do.

I'm not into a lot of gore, zombies or straight up slasher movies. But anything with a psychological overtone perks a deep interest. Maybe it's because fear feels uncontrollable, and sometimes I like to unwind by squinching down into my seat, with my coat pulled up to the bottom of my eyes.

I read a review before seeing it that brought up the possibility that the things Laura (the main character) sees aren't real.

I never doubted her for a second.

At the heart of the story is a very sad, very twisted plot that bubbles to the surface as the movie unfolds.

The ending may ruin it for some of you. For me, it was a slight letdown, mostly because it changes the mood quickly, leaving you with very mixed feelings.

This is more than just a "horror" film. It's also about the family dynamic and what that might mean to each of us.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

HOLY SHIT. I never quite understood the full extent of my sister's obsession with DDL (that's Daniel Day-Lewis, of course) until now. And believe me when i say that i just didn't think PT Anderson had it in him. I liked each of his film's a little less than the one before it, except for Punch Drunk Love which was far better than Magnolia. But nothing could have prepared me for the Soddom-and-Gomorrah-like wrath of god to be found in this movie.

The film is set in the wide-open-spaces of the American West but any familiarity you might feel from the big cinemascope vistas is soundly squashed by Johnny Greenwood's burning, alienating score (which is augmented, unexpectedly, with the final movement from Brahms's Violin Concerto.) That huge space is the perfect stage for DDL's portrayal of a man of staggering hunger to devour everything before him, and colossal disgust for the world and men.

There's not too much for me to tell you about the story, which unwinds slowly and let's DDL, in each scene, add a block to his swaying tower of insanity. One of the best parts is the opening, about ten minutes with no dialogue, just a man slowly boring into the earth in search of oil, thirsting for the earth's blood.

Hard Boiled (1992)

I should put myself in more situations where I watch movies I think I know really well with people who've never seen it before. Sheri was totally all like "What's going on?" within three minutes, and it took me about an hour to remember how they actually ended up in the hospital shooting patients and stuff.

You know you're watching a HK gangster film because of the casual disregard for stuntmen's welfare. Throwing actual people off trailers onto cars and running into them with motorcycles. Also, just in general, they tend to have a lot more guys in group scenes than American movies do. Like at the warehouse takeover, there are like 50-70 guys there. I'm watching The Departed which is a remake of Infernal Affairs which I don't remember very well, except there was one standoff scene in a conference room with like 80 guys between the two factions. I don't think there's any standoff in The Departed with 80 guys. But I guess it's good in its own way. It's got Matt Damon in it, who according to every woman I am currently in contact with is like the hottest guy ever.

One of the best soundtracks of the '90s.

Atonement (2007)

This is a real good weepy. The movie was a little hard to follow, as it jumped in time and between reality and make believe. Also they spoke with English accents, which I can't really understand. Keira was pretty good and James McAvoy makes me want to be a better man.

No watch checks, except when I got to my seat a half hour before the movie was supposed to start. I blame Dort for that. But we got good seats and she had a pretty good story to tell. She had gone to a funeral the day before of a man killed by Stanford hospital--they gave him chemo for cancer he didn't have. so with that cheery beginning, the place filled up and we watched a flick.

this is a good love story movie, and the war stuff is done tastefully. they mix in real clips from the Dunkirk evacuation of troops, of all the guys happy to be home. of course, some of them didn't make it, leaving the need for atonement of the sins others had committed against them. the soundtrack is like solo piano mostly, with some Cure songs mixed in. just kidding. but they did have cool interplay between the sounds and the music. for instance, a typewriter keystroke would repeat and turn into a rhythmic piece of music.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

Five minutes of morality does not make up for a movie about how great the guy who armed the Afghans was. The real life Wilson took risks and made a name for himself both on and off the field. That makes for an exciting movie. But it does not tell a complete story. Turning the last few minutes into a plea for peace is a nice gesture but I think it was too subtle, especially compared with the rest of the film.

Hoffman was fantastic, even if I couldn't always hear what he said. No watch checks - I turned off my cell phone and don't own a watch, though, so it would have taken some effort. That assistant from Talladega Nights reprises her role as the level-headed advisor, but without the sex fiend waiting to get out thing, thank god. But good acting does a not a movie make.

I'm Not There (2007)

Seeing Don't Look Back and No Direction Home is almost a prerequisite to seeing this film. A Dylan biography or two probably wouldn't have hurt me either (I've never read any). Dylanologists will find much to ponder here; casual moviegoers expecting a biopic like Ray or Walk the Line, not so much.

It's like a Slaughterhouse Five rendition of Dylan's story, not even really about his life but what people know of it. I liked it, but some audience members walked out. Those who got to the end, though, definitely found themselves unable to resist singing along to "Like A Rolling Stone."

Also, Richard Gere has really lost any sort of charisma or pull he may have once had with me. It might have just been his storyline, but he felt like a total squirm-inducing blank slate.

Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007

After nearly passing out and getting woozy, one of the few things that came to mind was how the American Red Cross missed a golden opportunity for cross promotion. Sweeny had a lot, check that A LOT of blood. There was so much spilled that the grace and artistry with which it's spilt (yeah conjugation!) reminded me of a champagne toast. My favorite is when someone opens the bottle with a saber, and it spews with rainbow arc.
The big "wher'd'it go?" was the title song usually sung by the chorus in the stage production. I miss it mostly because it is emblematic of Stephen Sondheim's disjointed modernity in lyric and score.
There are other "numbers," as B'way lingoists note, that fall in his style. One might be interested to know that Sondheim's big break came with the lyrics for Bernstein's West Side Story..
All that aside...
I think that movie is long. If only because it is a musical that wears me out. Other than that I liken the story to a cross between a Charles Dickens and Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. I recommend checking out Julie Taymor's take from 1999.
By the way. Did you know it was a musical? For most of the ads that I saw, there was hardly a mention of a note of a hint of tune. We here in Elk Grove Village theorize that it's a marketing ploy to get more people in the door.
More singing from Alan Rickman please.

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

I shit you not, I watched this film. But it was under the circumstance that it was the in-flight movie, so don't worry... my balls are still in place.

Now I don't claim to be any expert on Jane Austen novels, but I guess what this movie is about is how even those old chick books can be applied to relationships today to make a proper chick movie even though said chick movie doesn't blatantly copy the books. But even this chick movie is based of a chick book of the same title, so let that rattle in your brain.

We follow the story of a woman in the middle of a separation/divorce who is lulled by her yenta friends to create a book club to help her cope with it all. I reckon each member of the club is supposed to match some Jane Austen character, but that's beyond me. But the big twist to the club (OMG SPOILER ALERT!) is that among this estrogenfest, a guy is allowed into their book club thus creating some vehicle to the movie's conflict, or at least one of the conflicts of the movie.

So the relationships have closure at the end of the film, as for what that closure is, be it positive or negative, you gotta watch the movie, or read the book. I don't recommend this movie for anyone one who is not a fan of Austen because some of this stuff just went right over my head. But if you like Austen, chick flicks, and most likely if you have a vagina, you may like this movie. The only saving grace of this film for me is that it has Maggie Grace in it. So hot. And she plays a lesbian! And that's about it for that. Well, Maria Bello is hot too for an older lady. I had zero watch checks, but I did fall asleep for 5 minutes. I was on a plane, what do you want from me?