palo alto: cutting great neck 2.0


February 05, 2008

17:11 / by the gloriously humble gadi cohen / loving replies (0)

Hillama McRomney On Ocean Valley Lane
A polling station on my street during Super Tuesday...I was so excited for that day.

February 4, 2008

16:56 / by the gloriously humble gadi cohen / loving replies (0)

12 Hours Before the Maids

Well, first day of Project 365. Inspiring, huh? Just to clean some up.

Husbands and Wives is married to the top 50 scripts of all time

22:00 / by the gloriously humble gadi cohen / loving replies (0)


Husbands and Wives
Directed by Woody Allen
1992
Starring: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Judy Davis, Sydney Pollack
Rated R
A-

This is one of the greatest films from one of the greatest directors of all time, and yet it is one of the most underappreciated. Husbands and Wives, as the title suggests, is all about the ups and downs of marriage—and the only reason this film was so convincing and amusing at the same time was that it is partially based on Woody Allen’s own past experiences with “holy matrimony”.

Woody Allen directed, wrote, and acted in this incredible film. In the first scene, Gabe (Allen) and his wife Judy (Mia Farrow) are visited by their best friends, also a couple, Sally (Judy Davis) and Jack (Sydney Pollack). What makes this scene so hilarious is Sally and Jack’s casual mood as they announce their separation to the shocked pair. From that point on, the movie takes numerous hilarious twists, remaining with the theme of marriage and its instabilities until the end.

Allen’s script is, as always, genius. At one point, Gabe’s wife argues with him, telling him “You use sex to express every emotion other than love,” a perfect example of the humor Allen employs in this movie. It is convincing, uproarious, and absorbing at the same time and yet its simplicity is down to earth and brilliant. The characters’ interactions are captivating, filled with classic moments while still shying away from cliché.

The acting is also remarkable in Wives. Davis is wonderfully comical as the cynical Sally who’s constantly irritated by the other sex, while Farrow adequately portrays a graceful woman who becomes suspicious about her husband after her friends’ divorce. Pollack does a fantastic job being an insincere, hard-to-please Jack, while Allen performs his usual paranoid, neurotic character as Gabe.

This film is a diversion from Allen’s usual style—it is shot in a hand-held bouncy fashion, which helps to illustrate the characters’ anxieties. It is also executed documentary-style, with several character interviews interwoven throughout the dramatic plot points.

Sometimes, the story seems too much like Allen’s past films about marriage and divorce, so much so that a few lines appear passé on the surface but are actually echoes from Allen’s previous movies. Overall, Husbands and Wives was an excellent narrative, uncomplicated and overly authentic. Woody again showed himself as the master of comedy.

I have a crush on Hillary 2008

21:58 / by the gloriously humble gadi cohen / loving replies (0)

I SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON BECAUSE:

1) I disagree with all the republicans, those fuck-faces, excuse me for the vulgarity.

2) Being first is not a reason to chooce---this goes for both Hillary and Obama.

3) I only disagree with Obama on dual things: one, Health Care, where he only wants to cheapen it, not mandate it---and two, Foreign Stragety, where he says he'll support absconding some of our rights for our personal security.

4) Obama's main message is CHANGE WILL HELP US: Hillary's main message is I AM NOT CHANGE BUT I WILL HELP US THROUGH INTELLIGENCE. There, I said it: Hillary's intelligence and depth impresses me much more than Obama's leadership, even though she is a bit bitter at times.

5) The truth is, that Hillary has already tackled some issues in her life: In the White House, she helped Bill with Health Insurance, while in the congress she was a strong of advocate of many years, and her resume is literally packed, even though a few attempts of her have failed. I'm not saying Obama can't tackle anything, but the only thing we've seen him try to tackle is Hillary Clinton.

6) She is, of course, as I said in 5, MORE QUALIFIED. I am repeating this for emphasizement (word?).

7) She has far more intellect than the young, inexperienced Obama.

THE ONLY problem with her is, as Obama describes it, Polarizing. This means that she usually divides people into two groups, when Obama's like "Hey dude, wanna hitch a ride and vote for Obama?" The truth is, I'd rather see Obama in the White House than McCain, and if Hillary has less chance to get into the White House than Obama, then I'd support Obama in August.

But until them, I HAVE A CRUSH ON HILLARY!