I just saw Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore's documentary about violence in America (particularly gun violence) in which Marilyn Manson astutely sums up what this country is about: Consumption and Fear. Everywhere Americans are urged to continue buying and consuming things while we're simultaneously fed messages of fear. Fear of communism, black males, terrorism, etc. etc. etc. Feeding fears and using consumerism to stave off the boogie man that is outside our door is what we're all about. As Michael Moore seems to suggest, it's also this perpetuated and fabricated fear that contributes to violence in the U.S.

As ennui writes, the story of privileged people feeling lost doesn't make for the most compelling character exploration in the world, but I still really enjoyed Soffia Coppola's Lost in Translation. Perhaps because it's the first movie I've seen in a long time I liked it more than I would have another time. Visually, however, it was luscious. Tokyo was at once inviting and off-putting. I don't know why, but it seems like the perfect setting for a science fiction movie. Sort of like New York, but with much more stimulus and with a more over-crowded feel. Bill Murray is great as usual. I remembered Scarlett Johansson from the Horse Whisperer and thought she portrayed the smart, bored and sullen Charolotte very well against Murray's has-been actor who's lost the ability to feel passionate about life. They seemed like the most unlikely romantic pair possible, but their quiet banter was actually charming and natural feeling. The expected build up to the resolution of their feelings takes forever -- the middle of the movie feels to ramble a bit as Charlotte explores on her own and Murray gets deeper lost -- but in the end, the declaration of their closeness seems natural and worth waiting for in my opinion.

Saw Ed Harris' 2000 film, Pollock this weekend and was disappointed. It's not that I expected much, but I didn't really get anything out of watching it. I thought the cinematography was too intrusive and obvious to make filmmaking disappear and let the story take life. I don't know. Maybe I was just hoping it would be better. Last movie I saw about an artist was Surviving Picasso and that was disappointing as well. Basquiat is probably the one that I've seen that does the best job so far. I don't know what my problem is with these movies. Perhaps it's that they often reveal some of the ugliness in these artists (e.g. Pollock's self-destructiveness as an alcoholic, Picasso's unfaithfulness), but there is also so much reverence in their depiction and not enough vulnerability. I'm not sure what I expect, but maybe I expect the auteurs to open a window into their soul that I haven't seen before. That's what I feed off of in films I like -- esp. tragedies, tragic love stories. Perhaps the problem is that to do so in a biopic would mean creating a fiction, for lack of insight into the lives of the artists.

Saw the movie Scratch twice today. It's an inspiring documentary that makes you wanna get off your ass and do something you love. i can't say that i love working as much as all the stuff i love and used to be able to do all the time. But when I start to commit myself less to some stuff, I hope to get back to some of those early loves.