A strange filmy substance on films.

Paul and I making a movie. A local guy with interest.


This week I had the experience of watching someones favorite movie. The movie is the 1992 release Pure Country, starring none other than George Strait. At it's conclusion I came to my own conclusion that it wasn't a very good movie. I figured that it was my friend's favorite movie for reasons other than it's quality. It turns out that my friend likes this movie because she's seen it a bunch of times. Growing up she'd watch it all the time with her brother and, to this day, they both love it.

All of this talk about good movies made me think that, until recently, I hadn't seen a really good movie for at least a year or so. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a really good movie. It is a great idea and the writers let it play out very nicely. Brad Pitt is great in it, and Cate Blanchett is better. The relationships that Benjamin develop are genuine and interesting and the people that love him are of the utmost character. Kind of like Forrest Gump but not as sugary or predictable. I strongly recommend taking the time for this one.

Which brings me to my next thought. What are my favorite movies? Should I make a list? Yes, I believe that I will! Here they are, in order of their release into the world, with a little bit of my thoughts:

1. Citizen Kane 1941

This is a movie I have watched 5 times in the last 2 years, and twice with the historian's commentary on. I suggest that you do the same. It is a trailblazer; camera shots, no name actors, a 25 year old star and director with all sorts of creative control. This was made all before Pearl Harbor got bombed. Also, an epic/timeless story.

2. Dr. Strangelove 1964

This, to me, is a prophetic movie. Well, I guess with the cold war and the Cuban Missile Crisis, it isn't that prophetic. The story of the Doomsday Device, a war crazy general, and, of course, Dr. Strangelove himself. Also, hilarious, and James Earl Jones' first acting roll. The themes in this movie, though comedic, are probably very similar to the themes that George W. was dealing with for the last 8 years with his war friends.

8. Chinatown 1974

First of all, director Roman Polanski's life is unreal! His mother died in a Nazi Concentration camp and his wife was murdered by the Manson Family; and that is just the tip of the iceberg. He later went on to win an Oscar for directing The Pianist in 2002, but could not come to America to receive it since he would be arrested upon arrival because of being convicted of statutory rape of a 13 year old girl years before after which he fled the country, never to return, even to this day.

Chinatown is amazing. Jack Nicholson gets things done in this movie. The thing that really stood out to me was all of the "beat downs" in the movie. They all seemed so real. I am convinced that half of the fights had to have included real punching, hitting, slapping, etc. It's simply a very believable movie.

4. The Thin Blue Line 1988

Errol Morris' shocking documentary is hard to get a hold of, but if you do, you will not be disappointed. The story line is of a man convicted of a murder he did not commit. It's a really sad story, but the whole thing comes together in the end and it is... well... unbelievable! I'll just say that. Watch it.

5. Unforgiven 1992

If I was making this list from best to 11th best, this one would be near the top. Clint Eastwood is the man in this film. The cinematography is beautiful and purposeful. The acting is raw. The story is refreshing for a cowboy movie. I only saw this a few months ago and I still think about it a lot.

6. Saving Private Ryan 1998

The chaotic beach scene is one of the best scenes of all time. The rest of the movie is pretty amazing, as we all know. The ending on the bridge is pretty memorable too.

7. The Matrix 1999

The 2 other Matrix films are pretty forgettable, but it all started out pretty well. I remember going to see this movie at the Paramount Theatre on Jasper Ave. with my cousin after some sort of family gathering. I don't really need to say anything else about this movie since everyone has seen it. When I worked at Movie World it was the staple that I would throw in the VCR and have on during the slower parts of the night.

8. Dancer in the Dark 2000

The saddest movie I have ever seen. Talking to other people about it and they actually seemed to feel physically violated by the movie. I'm pretty sure that that's what the makers were going for and I think that it is beautiful because of/in spite of that.

9. American Splendor 2003

This is the "comedy" of the bunch. Harvey Pekar is a really lovable character. His idea for comics is great as is the whole story. "I'm just a kid from the neighborhood!"

10. Kill Bill Vol 1 & 2 2003-04

After thinking about it for a long time I've concluded that this is my favorite Tarentino movie(s). It is very violent, and that is not necessarily why I like it. The story is different in that it is a Kung Fu/Western/Crime/Dramatic/Thriller. Also, Uma Thurman rules.

11. Darjeeling Limited 2007

A few Highlights:

- The awkward moments between the brothers.
- Francis' annoyance at Peter for Peter seeming to steal all of their father's things.
- Francis' and Sister Patricia's similarities.
- The gifted leather belt, from Francis AND Jack.
- The fact that I know many people who have been to India and none of them ever saw a train that nice.

This is a beautiful movie. The incident in the small town with the river raft puts it over the top.



I really like Wes Anderson's movies. The Royal Tenenbaums is right up there as well. When Jeff Wilson finds a copy of Bottle Rocket in town he is sure to buy it and gift it to someone. There seems to be a lot of respect for that movie in this city. I also realise that I indirectly have named both of my boys (born and not yet born) after Wes Anderson characters.

Miles Dignan Gitzel
Richie Darrough Gitzel

I love those little guys.

I could have picked other movies, and most of my picks are rather new. This could be because I am 27 years old and have not yet been introduced to many more of the old classics. I've watched a ton of classics, though, and I would say that 95% of them are just as good as advertised. I encourage you to check out the classics. Or at least anything made before 1990.

What's your favorite movie?

School's back! Cough, cough, Coffee!

Today we had a meeting for all of the foreign students at the University. It was my 4th or 5th one of these, I can't quite remember clearly. It involves us listening to a speech in Chinese and someone translating that speech into English. The English translator, a wonderful local lady we've known for quite sometime, was off from her job in the office for almost a year, so her English is a little rusty. The speech is usually a bunch of do's and don'ts. Here are some of the highlights:

1. "Teachers and students leaving class early or talking on their cell phones during class will be punished." (I think that something is lost in the translation here. I imagine that they are trying to crack down on this kind of behavior, but 'punish' seems too strong of a word. Rest assured that I will not be testing them on that one.) "No cell phone? Okay, got it!"

2. "Except for Chinese, we will also offer calligraphy, culture, and other classes." (Once again, 'except' doesn't really work that well in this situation. There WILL BE Chinese classes.)

3. No talking about things you shouldn't be talking about. (I understand that one. I don't talk that much anyways.)

4. People on student visas may not work at teaching English or in the factories. (Which factories?)

Those are the highlights. It's usually a pretty entertaining time.

In other news, I met a guy today who is planning on opening a coffee shop somewhere on the other side of town. This is good since the 2 existing coffee shops are downtown and the other side of town is probably teeming with coffee enthusiasts. Still no Starbucks... amen. It is fun watching all of these people try to open something here in this city of 1.5 million before Starbucks gets here. My guess would be that within 5 years they break down the door and start brewing their perverted devil's drink. So, so tasty perverted devil's drink, that is.

The weather is warming up nicely. I can smell the Spring season wandering through my window as we speak. Kind of like leaves and baked bread. We've spent time playing outside the last few days.

Week In Review...

- A lot of good stuff happened this week. First off, Miles' mouth welcomed a new addition to the tooth family. This one is more of a molar type tooth as it is nearer to the back of his mouth and not for any sharp 'piercing' of food, but more for 'grinding' the food down. This will come in handy with his apple slices, toast, and crackers, but not so much for juice, cheese, or peanut butter. All this to say that it seemed to be a painful experience for Miles as this tooth is both wider and flatter than the previous ones, resulting in more pain as things progressed.

The appearance of the tooth has seemed to result in a happier boy. He isn't as whiny as he had been the last few weeks and he seems to be excited to get back into the 'joys of eating'.

- I started up my language class this week. It will be 1 hour a day, 5 days a week with Bai 老师. She is the elder sister of one of my former teachers at the university. I am sure that it will be good times.










Our Teacher with the boys.

- In regards to baby #2, we seem to be closer to giving the boy a real name. The options, as of now, are Richie and Jonas. If you have any name ideas please feel free to comment. The boy's middle name will be Darrough, after our good friend Kevin Darrough who passed away earlier this year.

- The elimination of coffee during Lent has had its ups and downs. I think that its been about a week and I've gone 5 of 7 days without coffee. I had to incorporate a special 'sabbath' from Lent, which equals drinking coffee on that day, which is Saturday. This is in conjunction with our traditional 'Saturday Morning Breakfast' celebration that takes place every Saturday morning. In any event, taking it easy on the coffee has left my stomach feeling a lot better. Maybe it was an ulcer or something forming down there, but things seemed to have cleared up. I can't say that I'm proud of my apathetic observation of Lent.

- It is now a few hours later and I am staying up for a bit to listen to TSN.ca for their updates during NHL trade deadline day. It's got a lot of hype, but I can't say that I'm expecting anything amazing done by the Oilers. They need a new back-up goalie, a strong defense man, a face-off specialist, and a scorer. I will say that I hope that they at least grab another defense man and a face-off guy. I guess I'll find out a little later.

**To the left are a couple of 2026 first round picks.