Diamond and Coal

See her now, as clear as a diamond resting in a bed of coal. Her smooth, caramel flesh drapes effortlessly around such lovely bones, and her eyes are of the richest, deepest chocolate - set in place by exquisite frame.

She comes in out of the rain and stays a while, and flees with the first sign of sunlight sliding through my bedroom blinds. I stir in the early morning light, tossing and turning in a bed too small for sleep, with overwhelming feelings of guilt.

I watched the Sun spill onto her skin, and in that moment the pain subsided. The memories of you became nothing more than bad dreams, clinging to the cobwebs in my brain. The emptiness and numbness I've woke up with these past few weeks disappeared, replaced by the comforting realization that there is a me without you.

I don't miss you as much as I did the day before. I don't love you like I loved you yesterday.

Moon

MOON
In space, no one can hear you scream.

If there's one thing I've learned from all my years of consuming science fiction and fantasy tales, it's the fact that you just can't trust technology. From HAL-9000, the sentient computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey, to Mother from Alien, the future is filled with devious artificial intelligence bent on domination.

In Moon, director Duncan Jones' first feature film, the future's artificial intelligence arrives in the form of GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), the robotic custodian of a Lunar Industries base on the Moon. GERTY is joined by astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who has been contracted to extract helium-3 from lunar soil to create new, powerful energy back on Earth.

As Bell inches closer and closer to the end of his three-year contract with Lunar Industries, the effect of isolation takes its toll. The only contact Bell has with the outside world is a satellite feed that only seems to work one way, taking days to get a reply from Earth. Bell begins to hallucinate and grows paranoid of his robotic counterpart. On a routine trip to repair one of the helium-3 harvesters, Bell makes a puzzling discovery that kicks his paranoia into full-blown terror.


Moon is strikingly beautiful in its simplicity. The line between what is a digital environment and constructed set is almost unrecognizable - a perfect blend of practical and special effects that brings the desolation and emptiness of the lunar landscape to life. Few images are as striking as a silent, steady pan of a lone rover ambling across the moon's cratered and pocked surface.

And few performances in recent history are as striking and thoughtful as Sam Rockwell's portrayal of Bell. Moon was specifically written as a vehicle for Rockwell, and he drives it with the precision of a battle-hardened fighter pilot under heavy fire. Rockwell's scenes with GERTY are charming, and Spacey's voice seems made for GERTY's mechanical interface. It is cold, detached, comforting, empathetic and yet powerful and omnipotent.

Moon is a return to the hard-edged, stirring science fiction films of the late '70s and early '80s. It is a film that is filled with emotional gravitas - a study in what it means to be human and the importance of contact with others. Moon is one of the best films of 2009, and expect to see Rockwell up for an Oscar nomination for his role as Sam Bell.

Stirring, thought-provoking, visually stimulating. Moon is all of these things. It is a masterfully crafted film that shows incredible promise for newcomer Duncan Jones. While Moon doesn't bring many original concepts to the table, it succeeds in pointing back to landmark films of the genre - 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien - films that exposed us to the stark, infinite emptiness of space and the cold, cruel realities of a life away from Earth.


"Impressive. Most Impressive."

The Trailer Park

(500) Days of Summer



Adam



Alice In Wonderland



Book Of Eli

The Uglier Truth

We shared enough in common to occupy the same spaces - couches, beds, long car rides - but, in the end, complacency and comfort fooled us both for true love. I've learned that loving someone who doesn't understand the concept of love is a wasted endeavor.

In the past, I've been attracted to a certain template of the opposite sex. These girls, while lovely, are often haunted by your typical assortment of emotional damage. Maybe it's an absent father or a bitchy mother. On occasion it's the fact she has only been exposed to worthless, uncaring dickheads in relationships. As a result, she has no concept of love and tends to be cold, shallow and often selfish.

But it isn't all bad. The reason I'm drawn to this kind of girl is simple. They're sturdy. They're strong and independent and very much a contemporary, real-life version of women I grew up wishing I could be with. Fictional leading ladies like Princess Leia, Ellen Ripley, Marion Ravenwood, Lost's Juliet and even Elm Street's Nancy Thompson were tough.

They were bad ass bitches who didn't take shit from anyone. They could hold their own in a fight and no matter if they were fighting Empires or Xenomorphs, manipulating plane crash survivors or putting Indiana Jones in his place - they were always confident and beautiful and fearsome.

And even though they could be intimidating, they had soft, fragile sides. We saw Princess Leia give in to Han Solo. We saw Ripley at her most bad ass when she was protecting the ones she loved - and even Marion Ravenwood fell victim to Indiana's charms.

I'm over thinking this, no doubt, but I can't help but point out the comparisons. She was the Hermione to my Ronald Weasley. The Princess Leia to my Han Solo. The Mary Jane to my Peter Parker - the Catwoman to my Bruce Wayne.

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For a while, it seems, I did a sufficient job at filling the gaping hole in her chest. In the end, though, I wasn't worth the effort. So now she'll go about her life, attempting to fill that hole in her heart with whatever comes her way. There will be new people, new experiences - new ideas of who she is and the life she wants - but it will never fill that hole completely. I imagine some small part of her will always be broken and empty, that's what makes her who she is.

She's cold, detached, coarse, strong, independent, stubborn and mostly selfish. I imagine she feels so many things have been taken from her - deprived of love and affection and care - that she deserves everything. She stumbles into pettiness the way a child refuses to share one of their toys.

And I let her have her way, because it was easy. It was easier to agree and take a backseat than watch her react to not getting her way. And because this beautiful girl got her way, she came to take that for granted. I gladly let her walk all over me and all it got me was trampled and kicked to the curb.

There were amazing moments of sweetness and happiness and times when I was for certain that it would last forever. There were frustrating, depressing times when nothing felt right - when none of the pieces went together. It was as if someone dumped out five 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzles on the floor and jumbled them up. The big picture was impossible to ascertain at times.

I'm overly emotional, exceedingly sentimental and very much a boy lacking in confidence, waiting on destiny to touch him on the shoulder. Because of these facts, I tend to seek out the strong-willed - to balance out my own flaws - and she was the best of the bunch at balancing me out.

But she wasn't happy, and if I could be 100% honest with myself, I would agree emphatically that I wasn't happy either. Love blinds us and binds us and makes it difficult to let go - and I suck at letting things go. By the time I found out it was over, she had let go weeks in advance. I was in denial, refusing to let go. I tried in vain to resolve the issues between us so we could go about our content little lives.

It had to be brutal and mean and ruthless. It had to be tragic and heartbreaking for me to eventually accept the devastation and pull myself from the burning wreckage of our failed attempt at love. In a way, I need the pain. I need the almost infinite depths of sadness and feelings of inadequacy.

She needs to exert herself. She needs to be the one who made the unwavering, decisive blow. She needs to feel in control and conquer every situation. And conquer me she did, or perhaps vanquish is more fitting. Now there seems to be a mutual repulsion toward one another, yet on two entirely different planes. While I can't help but find her lovely and attractive, she seems rather disgusted by me - unwilling to even look me in the eye or sit in the same room as me.

My repulsion is emotional in nature, rooted in a deep fear of rejection that nests inside me. I'm dejected and feeling inadequate to her unyielding presence. I feel sick to my stomach, thinking of her with someone else - and even though I may be giving her ammunition - I can't pretend to be unaffected by her.

She will love someone else. She will sleep with someone else. She will probably marry someone else, and the thought of that right now is more painful than the idea of me being without her. I know that sounds selfish. I should want her to be happy - and I do. I guess what I really want right now is for her to suffer as much as I am.

But she isn't, and she won't - because she's a bad ass bitch. She's too strong to let me see it. Maybe she'll regret it someday, but she'll be the only person who knows it.

And I know I'll go on to love others and be loved by them, and I'm sure we'll share couches and beds and long car rides to our favorite getaways. I know I'll find true love and be completely happy and fulfilled... but not right now. This was not the time and she was not the one. I don't regret the time we spent together, for the knowledge and insight and experience I've gained is irreplaceable.

Now is the time to find myself and become a Han Solo - to grow and become stronger because, after all, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. And I'm not dead - not yet. And who knows, maybe the one for me is right around the corner. If she isn't, I'll find her when the time is right. For now I look forward to finding a little solace and some peace of mind.

This is a return to form. A return to the driven, focused boy who has a firm understanding of who he is and what he wants. I must admit, my confidence and comprehension has been shaky as of late - compromised by two years of nothing but compromise.

I'm slightly embarrassed. It's been two years or more since I've really felt this level of rejection. I've been dumped. I've been kicked out. I'm vulnerable and lonely, but I know that time will eventually mend all of these wounds.

And even though I understand the reasons we shouldn't be together, that doesn't make it easier. I miss her, even still. I miss her after all of the mean words - the failed attempts at winning her back. I miss her and my heart aches for her. But what can you do? My heart has to heal sometime, right?

A Nightmare On Elm Street Set Visit Preview

A Nightmare On Elm Street
Comic-Con Exclusive Preview

On Thursday, June 25th, I had a chance to visit the set of Platinum Dunes’ latest film, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Here’s a little taste to whet your appetite for Comic-Con!

1, 2, Freddy’s Coming For You…

Director Samuel Bayer makes his feature film debut with Platinum Dunes’ new twist on Wes Craven’s 1984 classic, A Nightmare On Elm Street. Bayer, who has directed music videos for Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Metallica, Green Day and The Rolling Stones, is bringing his signature visionary style to one of the most beloved horror franchises of all time.

Written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer , A Nightmare On Elm Street stars Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) as Freddy Krueger and Rooney Mara as Nancy. Kyle Gallner (A Haunting in Connecticut) plays Quentin, who is taking the place of Johnny Depp’s Glenn character.

Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are telling Moviehole that this take on Elm Street is much more brutal and realistic than its predecessors. “I think that if we’re going to try and restart this franchise or at least bring our take to the franchise, it had to be different from what the other one was,” said Form. “It felt like the first Nightmare on Elm Street was kind of a scary, straight ahead horror movie, and then as they went on, they became more funny. In an effort to differentiate ours from what it had become, we wanted ours to feel much more real.”

Jackie Earle Haley’s take on the character seems to be less gleeful and more menacing in demeanor as well. Haley has carved out a niche by playing psychologically damaged, defective characters. How is Freddy Krueger different from Rorschach or Ronnie J. McGorvey? Haley tells Moviehole, “I think what I was playing before was tortured souls, so I figured in this one I’d play the torturing soul.”

What separates Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street from its slasher horror brethren is that the villain has to act – he actually has a personality. He isn’t some slow-walking mute masked man. Producer Brad Fuller is fully aware of this reality. “The fact that we have a guy who was nominated for an Academy Award playing Freddy Krueger is very exciting to us. It feels like it elevates our movie.”

Be sure to check out Moviehole’s Comic-Con coverage for all the latest news on A Nightmare on Elm Street and look forward to Moviehole’s visit to the set of Elm Street!

Someday You Will Be Loved

I once knew a girl
In the years of my youth
With eyes like the summer
All beauty and truth
In the morning I fled
Left a note and it read
Someday you will be loved.

I cannot pretend that I felt any regret
Cause each broken heart will eventually mend
As the blood runs red down the needle and thread
Someday you will be loved

You'll be loved you'll be loved
Like you never have known
The memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved

You may feel alone when you're falling asleep
And every time tears roll down your cheeks
But I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meet
Someday you will be loved

You'll be loved, you'll be loved
Like you never have known
The memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved

You'll be loved, you'll be loved
Like you never have known
The memories of me
Will seem more like bad dreams
Just a series of blurs
Like I never occurred
Someday you will be loved

"Someday You Will Be Loved" by Death Cab for Cutie

The Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Once again I must ask too much of you, Harry

How does one break an unbreakable vow? Can it be done, and what is the cost of fulfilling a promise sworn? In the sixth film adaptation of J.K. Rowling's beloved Harry Potter series, the world grows darker and our characters develop into more matured, less naive, beings.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bellatrix Lestrange (The deliciously wicked Helena Bonham Carter) and Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory) pay a visit to Snape's home at Spinner's End. It's here we learn that Snape has been aligned with Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters from the very get-go. Young Draco Malfoy has been given a difficult, ambitious task by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and Mrs. Malfoy swears Snape to an unbreakable vow. Snape is sworn to protect Draco, and if need be, finish this task himself should Draco fail.

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Professor Horus Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) takes over as Potions Master while Snape is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) excels at Quidditch and romance while Harry finds a curious potions textbook previously owned by "The Half-Blood Prince." Hermione is doing her typical thing, being the Hogwarts equivalent to a Mathlete, while also juggling a few romantic feelings for those around her.

While Ralph Fiennes is absent as Voldemort, the story centers around memories of young Tom Riddle, who would become the most powerful Dark Wizard in history. Also absent from the film's cast of regulars are Harry's guardians, The Dursleys. Fans of the novels will notice characters such as Dobby, Kreacher, Bill and Fleur, The Gaunts, and Ministers Scrimgeour and Fudge are missing in action. While this is disconcerting, it's obvious director David Yates has learned from his mistakes after helming 2007's Order of the Phoenix. Half-Blood Prince takes its time - the pace is deliberate and never does the progression of the story feel rushed.

Alan Rickman once again steals the show as Severus Snape. Rickman has brought Rowling's character to life with frightening realism. This is a character with thoughts and motives. One look at Rickman's Snape and you know the wheels are turning behind his black, poisonous eyes. He is a three-dimensional being with secrets and hidden allegiances. Michael Gambon also does a fantastic job as Dumbledore. In the past, Hogwarts' Headmaster has come off as an amalgam of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Gandalf the Grey. While he's still the old wizard mentor of Rowling's universe, he feels more tangible here - more fleshed out than in previous films.

As with any book adaptation, things are left out while screenwriters take liberties with the plot and create scenes out of thin air to push the story along. In the end, the film succeeds at capturing the tone and spirit of the n ovel, though fans will be left perplexed by decisions made to abandon crucial story points.

Though Yate's direction is still mostly uninspired, the cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel is phenomenal. Delbonnel, who served as director of photography on Amelie and Across the Universe, gives us a film filled with interesting angles and tight closeups. Delbonnel's pacing is fluid and gives the film a rich, multi-layered quality that the other Potter films have been sorely lacking. Half-Blood Prince is arguably the best Potter film thus far - but of course when the source material itself is elevated to another level, one can only expect the inevitable film adaptation to follow suit.

"This is a tasty burger!"

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker
You’ll Know When You’re In It

A robotic rover treads over rocky terrain. The mechanized scavenger scans the land with several on-board cameras as the intense heat beats down on the rocky terrain. At first glimpse, one might mistake this scene as something out of a science fiction film. The reality of the matter is, the desert landscape isn't Mars but Iraq, and the roving surveyor is not Wall-E but a bomb-disarming military tool.

This is the opening of Director Kathryn Bigelow’s film, The Hurt Locker. Set in 2004, the film follows a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit stationed in Iraq. Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later) plays Staff Sergeant William James, leader of this suicidal brigade of bomb disarmers. Under his command is Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), each with their own interesting and unique outlooks on the job.

Bigelow succeeds in creating an intense, accurate portrayal of the American Soldier. Every unfamiliar face is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb in disguise. The film is intense and gripping while allowing for a healthy dose of character development to make us feel part of the experience. As James and his squad defuse car bombs and hidden explosives, we are right there with them – sweating and praying to God that they cut the right wire. If only it were that easy. This isn’t Mission: Impossible – this is the real deal, and things aren’t as simple as choosing the red wire or the green wire.

The Hurt Locker has been a pleasant surprise in an underwhelming summer bloated with hype and unrealized potential. The film is chock full with brilliant performances, with Jeremy Renner stealing the show as the multi-dimensional wild man William James. Don’t be surprised if you see some familiar faces, as The Hurt Locker boasts an impressive roster of cameos including Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, Evangeline Lilly and David Morse.

In the burgeoning subgenre of Iraq War films, The Hurt Locker is a near-perfect example of how to take a dead horse and breathe new life into it. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is Jeremy Renner’s breakout role. I loved him in 28 Weeks Later and this is only further proof that the guy has serious chops. If you have a chance to check out The Hurt Locker in theaters, don’t miss out. It’s one of the best films of this summer and worthy of your time and money.


"This is a tasty burger!"

The Science of Lovely Little Bribes

The Science of Lovey Little Bribes

1. "Big Strong Girl" by Deb Talan
2. "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire
3. "Train Song" by Ben Gibbard & Feist
4. "I Was Made For You" by She & Him
5. "American Love" by Jack's Mannequin
6. "Birthday Gallery" by Daphne Loves Derby
7. "Little Bribes" by Death Cab for Cutie
8. "Restless Heart Syndrome" by Green Day
9. "The Ghosts of You and Me" by Less Than Jake
10. "Perfect" by Smashing Pumpkins
11. "Run" by Snow Patrol
12. "Living in Twlight" by The Weepies
13. "Nightswimming" by REM
14. "Winter Song" by Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
15. "Your Winter" by Sister Hazel
16. "It's Not Over" by Secondhand Serenade

This is the current soundtrack for my life. Feel free to join me in the crushing, devastating flood of sadness and regret that currently flows through my veins. And let me know if you like the music, too.