Knocked Up Makes Me Rethink Motherhood

I've always been a little skeptical on the idea of motherhood. Well, I could only be this way because I'm 22 and still on my way to getting a job and a life of my own. But then I think of the numerous stories my mother tells me about giving birth.

You were a stubborn baby and didn't arrive until two weeks past your due date. It was a hellish birth and I ended up getting a C-section.

That is not scary enough. With all my ideas of child rearing, I went and saw Knocked up with Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen. It sounded like a good movie hearing about the reviews and anything by Judd Apatow seems to turn to gold.

And it did turn out to be one of the funniest films I've watched this summer so far. It's about a woman named Alison (Heigl) and a man named Ben (Rogen) who engage in an one night stand. The audience watches everything. They see them meet, get drunk, go to her sister's poolhouse (her apartment), and begin the ritual act of having sex. We even see Ben carelessly throw the condom on the floor when Alison in a pit of sexual desire screams "Just do it already."

Don't worry. I haven't given away the plot yet. The film is called Knocked Up because she doesn't have a baby. It's about the process of having a baby. Since Alison and Ben aren't so close to each other, they begin to date in hopes to bettering the future of their child. That's where the real drama begins.

However, it's not the only point in the film. Knocked Up is riddled with funny banter between Ben's friends and Alison's sister and her husband. It is definitely the movie to watch when you're in your mid-twenties. It's almost like watching a quarter-life crisis that ends happily and definitely not tragically.

Paprika: She Will Travel Through Your Dreams

I mentioned in March a new movie about to appear in America. It's called Paprika and it seriously a film lost in the imagination of a child stuck in the walls of an adult's mind.

The story is based around a young woman named Chiba Atsuko and her alter-ego Paprika. She is a dream analyst who explores the dreams of her patients to cure different mental symptoms. However, the device called DC Mini (which helps people connect through dreams) is stolen and used to merge reality and dream together. Chiba and Paprika must work together in order to fight against the terrorist and save the world from their own dreams.

I went and saw this movie with a friend. I absolutely loved it and the only reason why is because it's something I never encounter in American cinema (animated or not). Dreams are the only place within a human mind to be completely free of the world's ability to bicker and bitch about everything. It is the sacred spot no one can ever encounter, but when that place is threatened by a crippled old man with only the goal of power in mind, you get a little scared. That's the entire premise of the film and that's something no American will probably never cover.

Most reviewers who see the movie say it's a step up from the trash that Americans make lately. I have to agree with these reviewers. Paprika explores not only the concept of dreams while you're dreaming, but the dreams you aspire. It's not suitable for kids because kids are still dreamers. It's adults who struggle to get through the 9-5 and stay stuck in their high school/college glory. That and the combination of colors and animation makes Satoshi Kon's film a must-see.

Sadly, you can't see this film everywhere. For those New Yorkers, it's playing at the Angelika and the AMC 25 in Times Square. For those New York Tourists: check it out the next time you're in town.


And to add a little music to it: Susumu Hirasawa's soundtrack is the same song repeated and remixed throughout the film. Luckily, it transforms the film from reality to a complete dream.

TMNT...or so they say

I saw the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle last night. and I honestly have to say that I liked it. The story is not as gripping as the ones from before, but it's got the grip to it.

What happens is that it's years after the turtles destroyed their nemesis, Shredder. Leonardo has been away in Latin America training to be a better leader. Donatello is a 24 hour IT tech service guy. Michaelangelo dresses up like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and shows up a birthday parties for kids. Basically, they've all reached retirement (which is what usually goes when you've killed your nemesis). Suddenly, a myth 3000 years old is revived as a man with eternal life wants to end the tragedy of living forever and return all of the evil monsters and crap back to where they came from.

So this is the entire story. It's almost like that movie Thirteen Ghosts. There's some dude who has to find 13 monsters who he unleashed 3000 years ago and put them back where they belong. He's also got a crazy gaggle of stone soldiders who help the FOOT clan (yeah they're back too) capture these 13 monsters.

The bad guy turned out to be the good guy and the good guys for the bad guy turned out to be the bad guys. The foot clan helps the turtes and the turtles....learn to be better brothers?

Honestly, I thought the movie was really fast to get to the ending. The last fighting scene wasn't as interesting as watching grown men in turtle costumes and it was just blah.

Let's just say they need a new movie with those old costumes. Yeah, that would be sweet.

La Dolce Vita? (a tired rant from Simone)

It don't seem so sweet when you've got Sylvia prancing around. Yeah, I was watching La Dolce Vita today. What I realized was how Italy (or mostly Fellini) regards America as these outlandish spectacles. If they're taking their cues from characters like Sylvia, then we are baffoons. We dance to crazy latin beats and listen to Elvis. That's what sort of bugs me. Why do a lot of Europeans regard Americans and their music as some sort of gimmick?

Yeah so a lot of the really good musicians come out of Europe (Thom Yorke, Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd, The Who, Kylie Minogue?), but that doesn't mean that Americans fall short to creating their own brand of good music.

I change my mind. Americans are like Sylvia. Yeah, we don't run around in ponds all day, but did you notice her attraction to sounds? From the running water in the classic fountain theme to the howling with the coyotes, it's all diligent listening to the sound. I bet you nothing that Robbie Williams writes will ever sound like that. So I say to hell with all you European musicians because America is musical too!

(Wait, Sylvia's swedish. Damn, another ABBA hit.)