Movies from 1999 [archive]

I was going through some files I had transferred from an old computer, and I thought this was interesting.  It's a list of all the movies I saw in 1999 with a brief review of each.  I wrote this at the end of 1999 and posted it on my website (called "Jeff's Lair") at the time.  I haven't re-watched many of these movies recently, so I can't say if my opinions hold up (I was probably a little harsh on The Hurricane), but these thoughts from a younger me may help set the stage for the retrospective of my creative projects I'm planning for this blog.  Take a look.

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1999 was a great year for movies, in fact the best I can remember. Here's a quick look at all the movies I saw during the year. They are not in an exact order from best to worst, but the better movies did tend to make their way to the top of the list.

Fight Club -- The most breath-taking, in-your-face film I've seen in a long time. More than just a movie, it is an experience that will take you to the edge and back. This brutal satire is one that will only get more popular in the years to come. In my opinion, it is the one movie that will define the 90s more than any other. Fight Club is my favorite movie of 1999 and one of my favorites of all time.

American Beauty -- How could anybody not love this movie? This is a wonderful way to spend a few hours. I was so deeply involved with this movie in the theater, I was almost unable to return to the real world when it was done. I loved the beautiful wide-screen cinematography, the score, the script, the acting... This movie rules.

Go -- An intense rush of a movie. It's all about being young and invincible. You can't go wrong with a concept like that, along with superb direction. This one will make you feel alive. Enough said.

The Sixth Sense -- Unfortunately I saw the ending coming from a mile away because it was lifted from an episode of Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark, but nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I was more frightened than I like to admit.

The Blair Witch Project -- The public may have backlashed against it now, but I'm still a big fan. When I saw it on opening night--after months of anticipation--the crowd was completely still and silent after we were struck with the final image at the film's end. When we reached the parking lot, my friends and I were yelling and screaming in delight. This movie is like a string that is pulled tighter and tighter until it snaps. What a build-up! What a pay-off!!

The Matrix -- Along with Terminator 2 and Dark City, this is one of the best science-fiction movies of the 90's. The plot sounds like one of the discussions we had in my Philosophy class, and the action is amazing. The scene near the climax with the helicopter is truly dazzling.

The Straight Story -- This G-rated movie is not supposed to appeal to a college-aged audience, but it captivated me well enough. However, my opinion may be slightly biased since this is the latest picture made by my favorite director, David Lynch. It's a simple story, the pace is slow and relaxed, but this only adds to how touching the movie really is. Although it's very restrained on sentiment, it really pulls you in by the time it concludes. I liked the cinematography and the music, as well as the accurate depiction of a small town. Also, many of the characters reminded me of my grandparents.

Being John Malkovich -- Great film. Mesmerizing and imaginative. While being one of the most bizarre comedies you can imagine, it also had a very sad tone to it brought on by the music and purposely drab set design. The result of this contrast is very unique. Sorry, I can't think of many other words to describe this film. You better just go watch it for yourself.

Magnolia -- I must say this one was very entertaining. I'm glad nobody had the chance to ruin the totally bizarre ending for me. Bizarre is actually a good word to describe the whole movie. Not too many directors (except maybe for Lynch in Fire Walk With Me) choose to play the music so loud in certain scenes that you can't hear the dialogue between characters. That was okay, however, since this movie has a great soundtrack. This movie may not be for everyone, but I recommend it to anybody who is open to fresh ideas and wants to enjoy a three-hour escape.

Three Kings -- People were comparing this to Saving Private Ryan. I definitely can't say it affected me as much as Ryan did, even if it does convey some of the same themes. Still, I give this movie credit for its very unique style and for some awesome action scenes.

The Green Mile -- Not as good as I expected. Not as good as The Shawshank Redemption. But still a terrific movie all around. I felt like I really got my money worth with this one. The movie's biggest flaw was with the bookends. They are just too over done in movies these days (Titanic, Pvt Ryan) and that old guy was just not very convincing as Tom Hanks. The movie would been better and shorter without them.

The Cider House Rules -- I didn't know what to expect going into this one, but I was pleasantly surprised with a beautifully shot coming-of-age story. The movie may not have much "edge," but it was a very well-done piece of old-fashioned filmmaking. Out of all the movies I saw from 1999, this came the closest to bringing me to tears.

Election -- A small-scale satire that works marvelously. It has a very drab atmosphere that brought back feelings about my own high school, and each of the characters definitely reminded me of real people I have encountered. Chris Klein's jock character was absolutely hilarious. A couple of my friends have asked me what the point of this movie is. I don't know if it can be summed up in a few sentences, but here's my take on it: The movie is about finding happiness in one's life, and that happiness is not related to success. Matthew Broderick's character claims to be happy with what he is doing both at the beginning and end of the movie, but I think he is lying and is secretly jealous of the direction of success Reese Witherspoon's character is heading in. The only character who is truly happy is Chis Klein's jock who takes everything so lightly. Now I'm getting more in depth than I wanted...

Eyes Wide Shut -- No, I didn't go see this movie because of all the infamous sex scenes; I just wanted to see a Kubrick film in the theater and to see what all the fuss was about. It's a movie that everybody seems to either love or hate, but for some reason my opinion falls between the two. I loved the dreamy atmosphere but thought the script was lacking. I like it when movies are left open to interpretation; I was flabergasted when the entire mystery was explained to exact detail near the end. It reminded me of Pyscho when the psychologist comes out and analyzes Norman Bates' mind. Pyscho worked for the period in which it was made, but I expected more from Kubrick. Today's audiences want to continue thinking after they leave the theater... at least I do. That was the case with most of the other movies on this list.

Stir of Echoes -- This one would have been better if I hadn't seen The Sixth Sense first. It was along the same lines. There were some definite chilling moments -- the first half was especially good for them, but the second half became predictable and lost its momentum. Still, this would be a good movie to check out on Halloween or on some Friday the 13th. It's very refreshing from the slasher movie standard we see so much of these days.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace -- I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about this movie by now, so I won't write much. I thought it was good, but not great. The special effects and the fact that it is the opening to a great saga definitely make it worth watching. I got chills when the opening rolled, but other than that it wasn't anything special.

Arlington Road -- I wanted to see this one mainly because the score was done by Angelo Badalamenti. It turned out to be a intense movie with an unexpectedly depressing ending. I liked it. More movies should aspire to take the risks that this one did, particularly in its introduction and conclusion.

American Pie -- The best teen movie of 1999, unless you count Go or Election, which I consider on another level. Chris Klein, who plays basically the same character as he did in Election, is hilarious again. Other than that, there's not much to say about a movie like this.

10 Things I Hate About You -- This movie doesn't do much other than show how much Shakespeare's work can be related to life today. A lot of the humor relies on your knowledge of Shakespeare, particularly The Taming of the Shrew, to be fully appreciated. I would label this movie as mediocre.

Cruel Intentions -- Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Michelle Gellar look great in this movie. Don't expect much more than a guilty pleasure from this one. It's kind of fun to watch spoiled rich teenagers ruin other peoples' lives just because they have nothing better to do.

8mm -- This movie could have been great -- it was written by the screen writer of Se7en for crying out loud -- but it lacked in direction. Joel Schumacher is no Fincher or Lynch. It would have been interesting to see what either one of those directors could have done with this material.

200 Cigarettes -- This one's got a great premise and some colorful characters, but it still doesn't quite do it for me. It was trying too hard for laughs or something. If you have to choose between this movie or watching Go for the 10th time, I recommend choosing Go.

Man on the Moon -- Jim Carrey did a superb job, but the movie was nothing outstanding. Maybe all the in-your-face movies on this list are making me spoiled for exciting flicks. This movie just didn't have much to offer. The facts presented were interesting. I have been intrigued by Andy Kaufman since a classmate gave a speech on him during my sophomore year, but this movie was nothing more than a timeline with some funny jokes thrown in. I do not recommend paying the $8 to see this in a theater. You could have the same viewing experience at home on a television set. For a much better Jim Carrey movie, see The Truman Show.

Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me -- It was fun to watch this at a sneak preview in the theater with a lively crowd. The other high point is Heather Graham, who looks truly amazing in this movie. There's not much more you can say about an Austin Powers movie.

The Hurricane -- This is an example of a movie that has way too much of a plot. It was too long, boring, and predictable. I'm not a fan of biopics. There was no style or atmosphere in this movie -- any no name director could have made this.

2012 recap

© Kacie Jean Photography

Well, there you have it -- only two posts in 2012 and one of them was a recap of 2011.  I also got about half way through the yet-to-be-published first entry in my video retrospective series.  Maybe I'll finish it (the entry, not the series) in 2013.

No, writing hasn't been much of a priority lately, and I'm fine with that for now.  Photography has been my go-to hobby partially because I'm able edit photos during breaks from work but mostly because I love having a visual record of my family, especially of our darling Veronica who is growing up so fast.  Her first 2+ years are documented pretty extensively over on my photo blog if you want to take a look.

Yeah, V has been growing in leaps and bounds.  After a brief introduction to the concept, she took the initiative to potty train herself.  A few days later she was done with diapers completely.  I was so impressed.  Right now she's into Mickey Mouse, macaroni & cheese, pretending her bed is a car, living room dance parties, and picking out her own clothes for the day.  Her imagination and use of language have really taken off and brought on a whole new world of cuteness.  And, wow, is she smart.  Last night she uncovered our secret hiding spot for cookies.  We can't slip much by her anymore!

Life has settled into a somewhat steady rhythm split between working our jobs, caring for a child, and trying to fit in an hour of TV once or twice a week.  We're still in Santa Barbara and still with Ameriprise and DuPont.  This is the longest we've lived in one place since graduating from high school, so that itself feels like an adjustment.  I've never been sure how attached to get to a place, but it's safe to say we've established a deep enough connection with this town now that we'll never be able to fully leave it behind.  Even if we were to move away for a while, I think I'll want to retire here.  But that's obviously a ways off.

We vacationed in Hawaii, Portland, and Minnesota in 2012 and made smaller trips to Montaña de Oro state park, San Diego, and Los Angeles.  Now that V is two years old and an extra ticket is required for flights, we'll be taking to the sky less.  R, the trip planner in this family, is working out the details for some upcoming road trips.  I'm really excited to do more camping this year.

Well, I don't want to put this blog post off any longer, so I'm going to hit Publish.  I hope your 2013 is off to a good start.  See you on the information superhighway-

2011 recap

© Kacie Jean Photography

I'm finally getting to this recap almost a third of the way into 2012.  I actually did start writing it on New Year's Eve, but my thoughts had since dissolved.  Each time I revisited the entry, it got shorter and shorter and now I'm starting from scratch... except for the first line below.  That still rings true.

I'm glad 2011 is done, but I already miss it.

Our first full year with a baby is behind us, and it went as fast as everyone said it would.  For some reason I expected it to get easier as the year went on, but I was wrong about that.  Looking back, the first few weeks and months after Veronica's arrival were a honeymoon.  The challenge started later, when I realized my new responsibilities weren't going away any time soon.  Raising a child is not a sprint.  It's not even a marathon.  It's more like running for the rest... of... your... life.

Many of you are parents so you know how much time and energy it takes.  Sometimes it feels like there's not enough left over to be a good husband, employee, son, or whatever other role I hold.  For a people pleaser like me, that can cause a lot of stress.  Veronica went straight to the top of my priority list.  And everything and everyone else dropped a notch.  That might not have been "right" or necessary, but it's what happened.  My dealing with the rest of the world dealing with that fact -- or at least my perception of their dealing -- was the negative side of 2011.  Balance is important and, for a while, it felt impossible to find.

One thing is for sure: my love for Veronica has grown every day since she was born, and I loved her a lot from the beginning. She is everything I could want in a daughter and so much more than I could have imagined.  Seeing her grow up makes me so happy and so sad at the same time.  I miss the little baby she was, yet I am so excited to see the person she is becoming.  R and I are so lucky to have each other and to have her.

So what else did we do last year?  To be honest it all feels like a big blur.  Looking on the Three Peas blog, I see we traveled to Cambria, LA, San Diego, Colorado, and Minnesota (four times as a family and once on my own for work).  I'm still working from home for the same company.  My hobbies and exercise still make an occasional appearance, although I'm less obsessive about them.  I still love Santa Barbara and still miss being in closer proximity to our relatives.  Being a part of my own (three-person) family now makes it easier and more difficult being away, which is just another example the contrasting feelings I have about the year.

2012 is off to a good start.  I've already met some goals by getting out camping once so far and by taking a public speaking course.  Not sure I will have the chance to jump into many creative projects this year, but I'm definitely going to continue the photography efforts and I do want to write more frequently on this blog.  I'm thinking about starting a new series of entries in which I look back on some older projects I've done.  It will be a way to share/document some of my video work that hasn't been put online yet and also give you some context for it (some of it might be too embarrassing without the context).

So I guess that's it.  I hope to write to you again soon-

Marty

I saw Martin Scorsese on the red carpet at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival this year. More accurately, I saw a ton of people flock around Martin Scorsese and conceal him from my view.  It was really tricky to get a clear shot, but I enjoyed the challenge.  Honestly, I think my pictures of James Franco from last year turned out much better (a few were posted here), mostly because the dude was taller.

So Called Myth

I finally had the opportunity to see my younger brother play in one of his two bands, So Called Myth, on July 1st in our hometown of Eveleth, MN.  The lighting was dim, but I managed to grab a few gritty shots.  Here's a sample from the set:

That's my bro featured in the last one.  Nice playing, Trev-man.

Back to work tomorrow

Between this entry and a bunch of recent posts on the Three Peas blog, I've probably been overusing the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone. I can't tell if it's aiding my creativity or stealing it from me, but either way it's pretty addicting to use and I always have my phone with me, so a lot of photos are being generated.

I haven't been writing much of anything lately.  Actually I've been starting and re-starting this entry for six weeks.  Uninterrupted stretches of time are rare and usually filled with more pressing things to do.  Plus, my thoughts have been widely scattered.  Maybe the problem is there's too much to say.  I'm horrible at decisions.  I don't know what to mention and what to leave out.  As a result, you can expect this entry to be a jumbled mess... if it gets finished at all.

I've been on leave from work since early May, which has been great.  I will never forget this time I've shared with Veronica.  She is everything I could possibly want in daughter.  No, that doesn't capture it.  The thousands of photos I've taken of her don't capture it either.  She's this perfect, innocent little being with a personality that is completely her own.  I love the way her face lights up when she sees her favorite book ("Farm Peekaboo").  I love listening to her murmur to herself as she plays with a box.  I love that she laughs at my lame jokes.  I love that she is so curious that she'll try to grab the next thing before letting go of the last.  There is so much more.  She just melts my heart.

There used to be more to this blog entry, but it was too revealing and I ran out of time to properly edit myself.  So I'm scrapping it.  I will leave you with the photos I intended to include. They tell a better story than I can with words anyway.

Minneapolis:

Santa Barbara:

Good night.

Brian and Jenny's engagement photos

A couple of friends are getting married soon and they asked me to shoot their engagement photos. I told them I'm not a professional, which means two things: 1) I couldn't offer a guarantee on quality and 2) I wouldn't accept any compensation.  In the end, they walked away with about 90 shots to choose from (cut down from the 250 I snapped), and I got some experience in the business without the pressure of having to satisfy a paying customer.

Plus, it was fun.  I would do something like this again way before I agree to, say, videotape a wedding, which (at least for me) ends up being a lot more work with less polished results.  I'm not saying I want to dedicate my nights and weekends to volunteer photography jobs, but once in a while I enjoy a creative challenge and I do like the idea of developing my skill set. If you are interested in setting up a free shoot with me, send me an email.

The fine print: I don't have any formal training, I use an entry-level SLR, and Veronica still receives priority booking :-).

2010 recap

2010 was the year little Veronica joined our family. Caring for a baby was a huge change for us and we're still defining the new "normal," but the time since her birth on October 24th has been filled with more joy than I could have possibly imagined. Our first few days with her, in particular, were the best of my life. I will always remember sitting in our sunny living room for hours and hours just watching our Vera-bean sleep. We shut out the rest of the world, listened to a lot of gentle music, and became familiar with this new person. It was absolutely love at first sight, if not earlier.

Most of the rest of the year was spent preparing mentally and physically for Veronica's arrival, but we did manage to travel a bit during the pregnancy with trips to Sonoma county, Washington state, France, and of course Minnesota. But you know what, my favorite place in the world remains here in Santa Barbara.

In addition to the birth, other notable milestones included celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary and R's 30th birthday. There has been so much reason to celebrate this year.

Hobby-wise, writing and video work have been on the decline, but my fun with photography has been on the rise. Veronica has been a huge inspiration and my new favorite subject for photos. I started a new web site in 2010 to showcase some of the pictures I've been taking of her. Free time has been short, but editing photos is so much quicker than editing video for me, so I've been fitting it in. And I just love having a record of our little girl growing up.

It has truly been an awesome year. Very few days go by when I don't think about how blessed I've been. What more could I want? Happy New Year, everybody!

Change of scenery

Here are a few non-baby related photos I've taken around town recently, just to freshen up the look around here. I'm not quite ready to begin writing much yet, but I'll probably post a brief summary of the year-in-Jeff at some point this month. Keep checking over at Three Peas for the photo story in progress.