Let Me In (2010)

Before I had even seen "Let the Right One In," the remake was already on its way. After watching the original, I couldn't fathom why another one was necessary. Still, I had to watch the American version once it came out and I guess it was okay. So far it's made about twelve million dollars domestically, just about matching how much the Swedish version made worldwide two years ago. The potential for profit is enough reason for a remake I guess.

There's something that just doesn't quite come together in Let Me In. Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz are both good as the leads, but they're not better than the originals. If anything, most of Smit-McPhee's appeal can be attributed to his incredibly wide set eyes, and while I do like Moretz, she's a little too pretty to play Abby.

What I absolutely hate about this Hollywood version is the sound effects. Typical of horror films that try to sonically convince you that you're afraid, Let Me In builds tension in all the wrong ways. The original didn't have any of this (as I recall), and it was a lot more powerful without the audio build up to big reveals. While this wasn't a bad movie by any standard, just knowing there's a far superior version out there, readily available for Netflix, makes it barely passable. Read the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist, it should be more worthy of your time.

Now You See Her, Now You Don't

Listening to: Vampire Weekend, "Taxi Cab." I believe everyone is into Vampire Weekend, and I guess I am now too after two selections in a few weeks. I can't even decide which song I like better, Taxi Cab or Oxford Comma. "Unsentimental, driving around, sure of myself, sure of it now / you stand this close to me, like the future was suppose to be..."

There's probably a better term for this but I'll go ahead and call it the "ghost relationship." My friends and I were sitting around compiling a list of who in our circle we think "most needs to be in a relationship," ranked highest to lowest (this is the kind of stuff we like to do), and the question came up of what to do with "unofficial significant others."

For example, some people don't have a lot of actual relationships but they tend to have a ghost person that fulfills all of those functions. This person could rightly be categorized as a best friend type but there's also the element of attraction -- usually from just one party. The difference between a ghost relationship and say, a friend hookup or a friend with benefits, is that the ghost is there to take care of the person's emotional needs.

Person you call in times of stress? Check. Person you talk to before heading off to bed? Check. Person you call to come over and watch a movie when you just feel like being at home on a Saturday? Check. Keep in mind that these two people aren't in a dating relationship either. To the whole world they are "just friends" but that vague hole a significant other usually occupies is temporarily filled by the ghost relationship.

If you're constantly fending off comments like the ones below, it's a good first sign that you may be in a ghost relationship:

"Are the two of you dating?"
"If you're not dating why do you need to call them back right now?"
"Isn't that a job for the significant other?"
"Would the two of you just do it and get it over with? I'm starving!"

There are different types of ghost relationships of course. Aside from the "emotional needs ghost friend," there's also the kind of ghost that is a relationship in everything but name and Facebook status. Think of everything a typical significant other does: be sweet, be mean, be available, be guilt tripped, be physically intimate, etc. Some people refuse to say that they're going out with someone but if you just take the facts, they totally are.

Basically the rule of thumb for a "ghost" is that it's an emotional hookup. Sustained over a period of time that ghost hookup becomes an entire ghost relationship. And that's when you rise higher in our "most needs to be in a relationship" ranking even if you're not actually in official relationships very often.

Our relationship accounting from here on out will now factor in both real and ghost relationships, in order to evaluate your ranking correctly. Be warned.

Secretariat (2010)

I'll give a lot of leeway for movies about subjects I really enjoy. Comic books, action movies, teen dramas, and certain types of sports movies. The problem with the latter is that they usually suck, especially when the "inspired by a real story" gets the Hollywood treatment and the facts are adjusted to fit a conventional story arc. Most of the time, I end up wishing that I should have just watched a documentary and read some websites.

After our summer of going to the horse races, Ashley and I just had to watch Secretariat. Sadly, we were misled as the title of the film should have been, "Secretariat's Owner: The Story of Penny Chenery." The majority of the film focused on Diane Lane's struggle to keep her farm from financial ruin.

What I wanted from this film was insight into the training and characteristics that made Secretariat such an outstanding racehorse. Instead I got a poorly executed human drama. Neigh. The horse scenes were well shot though, and whatever horse they used to play Secretariat was absolutely beautiful. Next time around, just give me more horse stuff please.

Secretariat captured the Triple Crown by winning the 1973 Belmot Stakes in record fashion. Critics doubted that he could race longer distances but Big Red blasted the competition by thirty one lengths. Apparently this is the most watched horse race in history, so you should probably watch it too.

There have only been eleven Triple Crown winners, the last one being Affirmed in 1978. Now you know.

Red (2010)

I don't know how this movie got away with billing itself as simply "Red." Googling "red movie" does return it as the first hit but there are just too many other "red" movies about, not to mention the service Redbox. I mean, there are at least three other movies also titled "Red," including one that also stars Brian Cox. The superb plot of that 2008 gem is "A reclusive man sets out for justice and redemption when three troublesome teens kill his dog for no good reason." A plague on all your houses!

Okay, I guess there wasn't much to fear about anyone confusing 2008 Red with 2010 Red. Such is the power of having stars like Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren on board. I mean, they didn't even have to acronymize "R.E.D.," even though it actually does stand for something. "Retired, Extremely Dangerous."

The movie itself is enjoyable all around I guess, even if it's pretty standard action fare. Actually, it's not standard, as it's far better than the other action crap they've been pushing this summer - hey there Expendables. I thought Mary Louise Parker was especially enjoyable in her role as the unflappable non-ex-assassin tagalong and I'd like to see her in more movies. She deserves it don't you think?

We watched Secretariat earlier, which had a horse named Big Red and John Malkovich as his outlandishly dressed trainer. So I think the universe was trying to tell me something. If you can't draw life meaning from movie hopping coincidences, where else can you look?

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

I quite enjoyed Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and have been waiting to drag people to the sequel with me. Power in numbers and certain movies by myself, what of it? There's actually not that much to say about Girl Who Played With Fire except that it hits most of the high (and low) points of the first one. The style and pacing of the story is different but it's hard to say which was better. James Berardinelli compared the structure of the Millenium Trilogy to Star Wars and I guess that could be correct. Let's just say that I certainly left Girl: Fire ready for more and felt cheated out of a proper ending.

The remake of Girl: Tattoo, by David Fincher, stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, which should be interesting. Mara was the girl from the first scene of The Social Network I guess. If I was so inclined I could go find out if Fincher picked her based on that performance or gave her to role in Social Network after selecting her for Girl: Tattoo -- or perhaps they're dating. But I actually don't care that much and am just glad they went with a relative unknown over someone more recognizable. I love me some Natalie Portman but if she got cast as Lisbeth Slander I'd have to boycott. Thank goodness Natalie had the sense to turn the role down. Ellen Page or Mila Kunis as Lisbeth would have been equally horrible.

Oh wait, I just found out Rooney Mara is Kate Mara's younger sister, and they are the offspring of the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers founders. I am now officially a fan of hers. My allegiance is easily bought by trivia.

Singles Club

The mixtape is an endangered species and an anachronism, duh. There was a time when making mixtapes was fun, exciting, and romantic. Well that time is now over as everyone just crams their iTunes full of songs. At least I know I do. Between Pandora and Shufflr, I barely know what artists I'm listening to, much less the names of the songs. I used to be religious about finding/owning the MP3 of a favorite tune but now I just keep an email draft with track names because it's almost easier to Google or Youtube a song on demand.

"In getting at why music is magic it makes an argument for all pop culture, for things that we assume are transient, whether that’s a chart-topping single or youth, sex, heartbreak, a glance across a room or the moment that just the right song hits your ears and you hit the dancefloor and just can’t pretend for one more second that you’re too cool."
-Phonogram is a comic about how music is magic-

Still, there are some tracks that stand out and just need to be shared. Plus, it is nice to load a curated playlist on your iPhone and drive away into the sunset -- or to the grocery store. So here's a bit of music that's been making my rounds this spring and summer. Featuring the vocal stylings of people you've probably heard of but I hadn't, including Siobhan Wilson, Freelance Whales, and Starfucker. With old favorites Ra Ra Riot, Mos Def, Mayer Hawthorne, and Peaches. Most of this stuff is pulled off my little "Listening to" blurbs. Enjoin.

(031) Sounds of Summer
Track list - Zip file
31 songs, 1 hr 50 mins, 164.5 MB
*I'd say listen to it sorted by the time column, short to long, but it really doesn't matter. The shuffle function helped kill the mixtape and I concede the point.

ps. I know the ideal mixtape is not thirty one tracks long, and it makes more sense to present something that could potentially fit on one compact disc. However, I already trimmed down from eighty four songs -- and tried to hit twenty five -- so it was just too painful. Think of this as a double album, like Tupac released post-jail with All Eyez On Me. I guess this summer has felt like jail in a way. But a luxurious jail located ten minutes away from the beach. It's all relative. Or you know what they say, "The medium is the message."