Well tomorrow I leave. 14 hour drive. My friend (who has not yet done any packing… well, neither have I) is also coming with. I get to visit family that I have not seen in a time range of anywhere from 6 months to over a year or two.

I head out on this trek tomorrow. Early. So I may/may-not be able to get to live journal as frequently. So if for the next two weeks it seems like I am ignoring you I am not.

I saw Pistol Opera lastnight. It was lost on me I am afraid. Mainly for 2 reasons. This movie is full of color and contrast and some excellent scenery. But with all that you get alot of symbolism. I cought probably less than half of it. That is number 1, no. 2 comes from no.1. I don’t have the best understaning of Japanese culture. I am sure that I could have picked up a bit more symbolism if I had a broader knowledge of their culture and heritage. None the less I was keeping up with the movie pretty well until the last 15 min when the movie goes on a tangent and then sort of kind of picks back up.

I really did enjoy the movie on many levels. The art direction, cinematography, and direction are all amazing at times. Some of the shots are really good as well to the point of good photography on a wall good. But I could not enjoy the film to its fullest extent. I could tell there are alot of influences on this film that I picked up on… I cant tell if it is Tarantino’s influence, or the same influence as Tarantino (I know he says all the time that he is basically putting together a movie based on all the movies he liked) but at times it has his touch to it.

The music is excellent, but on the other hand the sound is quite poor. Some conversation are super quiet but then the soundeffects will be extreamly loud. I cant tell if this is intended this way or bad, sound, but I am inclined to think it is bad sound. The music I think has Ska/Two Tones feel to it which is probably adding to the symbolism. Also the camera work is a bit bad at times. Shakey cameras, pans that get caught up at points, overall just not very fluid.

I have never spent this long in my journal on a movie review -I think- but it is probably because I have come to rely on my star system (the fault of gaming reviews too) so I wanted to portray the movie in a way for you to decide if you want to see it or not. It is probably what most people would consider artsy-fartsy. ? out of 4 stars.

I also wanted to put together a list of the best movies that I have seen this year since I started my journal, but I don’t really have time now (I procrastinated on some work as usual). I will leave you with this if you’re in want over the holidays: Spirited Away. By far the best movie I saw this year, and if you have been putting off seeing it then get it. It would also be a great family movie as I know some of you will be around alot of family. Put it in and spend time with some of your younger cousins, neices, and nephews.

Fair travels to all, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!