I am working my way back to director/writer Alejandro Amenabar’s earlier works, and “Thesis” is his feature debut. I first became aware of Amenabar with “the sea inside” and a bit later with “the others” (2004 and 2001, respectively), and have been amazed by his storytelling talent as a film maker.
Here we have a rare combination of entertainment, great writing and original thinking. Much like with Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan, I now know going in that whatever film bearing his name will be interesting to say the least.
This was also released as “encounter at Raven’s Gate”, most likely due to elements reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s “encounters of the third kind”. However, the aliens in “incident at Raven’s Gate” aren’t the least bit friendly, as we’ve seen now in many a horror film from Oz, everything out in the Bush is menacing.
Hollywood has lost an icon. She passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of congestive heart failure. She was surrounded by her four children.
Beginning her career as a child star, Elizabeth Taylor became on of Hollywood’s biggest icons as well as one of its greatest beauties. Her first movie of note was Lassie Come Home (1943) with Roddy McDowall. She launched her career with National Velvet (1944) and went on to make many more memorable films, such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), Giant (1956), and Cleopatra (1963).
It’s been a quiet weekend at the homestead, Saturday being our wedding anniversary and the weather turning to rain, mostly. Thanks to a break in the downpours we were able to drive to the beach at the Western end of Sloat boulevard.
Rhuda-an snapped this with her new Canon Powershot SX20, the clouds were stunning.
We then drove up to Twin Peaks and took this photo of the city…
Here is a local taking in the view…
Dinner consisted of a hachis parmentier, a layer of two beef patties mixed with a whole onion and shredded broccoli, squash and baby carrots, topped with a layer of garlic mashed potatoes, with a thin spread of shredded spinach with grated white cheddar.
Sadly, no pics this time but we’ll do this again!
Cats have a way of looking at you which conveys certain expectations. They give us plenty of credit, it’s true, thinking we (the pink monkeys) are perhaps smarter than we are. A case in point may be what to feed them, another maybe when to empty the litter box. At best, when we don’t get it, the result is an annoyed meow with a look of disappointment and impatience.
Tito making his point
At worst, as was the case yesterday, it will look like something exploded under the bathroom sink where we keep the uncovered litter box.
There was Feline Pine all over the floor in a 360 degree dispersion pattern. No question who did it either. When the naked one does a number 2 in there, a couple of things happen.
For one, he transforms from Kitsune into his evil self, Mazuzu Whang, running through the apartment yelling and growling, leaping on and off the furniture like a chimpanzee on acid and crack. You would think that taking a crap is the single most exciting thing of his day. Then, the stench spreads across the rooms.
Because Sphynxes can dump turds the size of which will make you do a triple take, and boy do they stink. In the first days after we brought the beast home, we used to eye each other suspiciously until we realized who the culprit was: to add insult to injury, he used to miss the box, you see… He’ll then look at us quizzically with his tail curled in a question mark: “do you get it, human?”
Some believe that people are at their best when things take a turn for the worse. I don’t think that way.
I do know that animals often put us humans to shame in many aspects, such as loyalty and faithfulness. This video from Japan of a dog protecting another is a great and moving example.
Both dogs are reportedly receiving veterinary care after being rescued.
A nod goes to a friend of the blog who is auctioning a print to benefit relief efforts in Japan, please take time to check out his photo stream here.
UPDATE: the island of Tashirojima appears to be safe for the time being. Its small human and very large feline populations have so far managed to escape major harm but are running low on food…
From wiki: fixed-net fishing was popular on the island after the Edo Period and fishermen from other areas would come and stay on the island overnight. The cats would go to the inns where the fishermen were staying and beg for scraps. Over time, the fishermen developed a fondness for the cats and would observe the cats closely, interpreting their actions as predictions of the weather and fish patterns. One day, when the fishermen were collecting rocks to use with the fixed-nets, a stray rock fell and killed one of the cats. The fishermen, feeling sorry for the loss of the cat, buried it and enshrined it at this location on the island.
“The plague of the zombies” – (1966, UK, 91 minutes – NR)
How about some cartoons before the main attraction? You can either rent or stream “Happy Tree Friends” cartoons before watching “the plague of the zombies”: short and oh-so-very-cute animations with cartoonish beavers, elks, hedgehogs, anteaters, bears and squirrels getting ‘dispatched’ in extremely gruesome ways…
In Jesse Jackson’s tone: enucleation, decapitation, immolation, evisceration, amputation, the list goes on.
So good it even makes me wince at times, and you have to love the little public service tips at the end of each short: “don’t forget to floss”, “a smile doesn’t cost anything”, etc.
And if you are familiar with the series, you ought to revisit it every so often. It will keep you sane in a mad world. Yes, really.
Now, onto our feature, “the plague of the zombies”: in late 19th century England, Sir James Forbes (Andre Morell) receives word from a former student practicing in a small village in Cornwall that strange deaths are occurring amongst the local population.
Continue reading ““Thesis” – (1996, Spain, 125 Minutes – rated R)”
