I think the gods are smiling...
Jan. 30th, 2005 12:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
japanesedream_72After all my ranting & raving, what do you think happens to me on Saturday? I FIND SHOES!!!!
And there were decent things on tv, as well. ^_^ But back to the shoes. We were at the chiropractor’s, which is about 20 minutes or so from here (he used to be closer, but moved about a year ago). My grandpa, who’s been an absolute gem as I go insane searching for footwear, was wondering if there were any shoe stores in that area, & asked him after I’d finished my session. He said there were 2 that he could think of. One was a little further away, so we decided to check out the closer one, & the other we’ll look in next time I go to chiro.
Anywho, the one we looked in was a Marty’s Shoes; we have one not too far from where we live, which we tried once before, with no luck. This one was having a sale, though at first, it seemed like there wasn’t anything remotely like what I was looking for, & anything that vaguely fit the bill wasn’t in a size my feet would tolerate. So we’re about to give up - we were actually on our way out - when right there in the corner behind the front door, what should I spot, but these:
http://www.martyshoes.com/store/media/liz-f04nancysuede500.jpg
They didn’t have the suede in my size, so I had to get the leather. They’re not exactly what I wanted, but they’re not too bad a compromise. And they were only $20. They only had one pair in the size I needed, but it’s a start. Still gonna check out the other store next time. You never know.
Then we went to China Moon, the little Chinese place just over the bridge ‘round the corner from my house, ‘cuz I’ve had a hankering for Asian food lately, & watching “Iron Chef” made me want it even more! Plus, we haven’t gotten Chinese take-out since the end of last summer. My grandpa always tends to pick up the lunch tab when we go out, even if I offer to, so this time, it was totally my treat. We got so much stuff! And it’s not expensive at all. It was so tremendous - y’know sometimes you haven’t had something in a while, & it just tastes FANTASTIC when you get ‘round to having it again? We even tried some new things: the steamed dumplings, the wonton-egg drop soup (I never knew they had that kind of soup! Wonton, yes; egg-drop, sure - but both? Wow!), the boneless, honey-glazed spare ribs (sorry, we’re carnivores). Between that, & old favourites like the spring rolls, the fried rice, & the stir-fry veggies...oh, man, I’m drooling just thinking about it.
So as I towel off the slobber, you check this out.
Like something out of a World War II-era newsreel, a boisterous voice sets the stage for an exciting tale of one man’s attempt to conquer the world of celebrity impersonators, by any means necessary...
Uh, scratch that.
So begins a little-known Canadian effort called “The Big Crimewave” (http://www.impossiblefunky.com/archives/issue_9/9_crimewave.htm), the story of Steven Penny, an aspiring screenwriter, & his struggle to complete a screenplay titled - what else? - The Big Crimewave.
Steven’s endeavours are chronicled through the eyes of Kim, a young girl whose family rented Steven the apartment over their garage. That first draft of the opening scene of Crimewave, which opens the film, was written on the back of the lease. Kim collects Steven’s rejected ideas (most often by fishing them out of the trash), & each discarded snippet or subsequent revision is visualised on-screen, presented as it would have appeared in the finished version of Steven’s movie. This may be a bit confusing for viewers, as it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish story from story-within-a-story, but I think it’s done for a reason: to accentuate the artist’s perspective, in which, when engrossed in a creative project, the line between fantasy & reality blurs, occasionally vanishing altogether.
The normally quiet, reclusive, & somewhat eccentric Steven (who will only write by the light of a streetlamp), soon allows Kim to hang out with him, & begins to show her brief glimpses of his world, such as his movie camera & unprocessed film, & teach her about the process of film-making (including a nifty exercise in persistence of vision).
Crimewave goes through several incarnations, ranging from celebrity impersonators to product distributors to self-help gurus, but despite its many re-writes, Steven has gotten it no nearer to completion, & his bouts with self-doubt & writer’s block soon stop his progress altogether. (As a one-time writer of poetry & short stories, myself, I can fully appreciate the emotional undertone of such plot points.) At one point, he gives up completely, vowing to remain in bed without moving or eating.
Through it all, Kim sticks by him, & when the dark patch finally blows over, she begins giving him glimpses into her world. Her family invites him to tag along the following evening, when they go to a costume party at a friend’s house. (His costume, & the effect it has on the other party-goers, is a riot!) There, she introduces him to “another quiet man”, the son of the family friend.
It isn’t long before Steven starts coming out of his shell & gets out & about, either with his new friend, with Kim, or on his own. He observes goings-on in the town (like puddles that never dry, or the police using the jaws of life to rescue a car crash victim), & makes the acquaintance of some local men (who are harassed gays). His nights are spent alone, ‘interacting’ with characters from the various drafts of his story.
Kim spots an ad in a magazine dropped by the garbage men, in which a certain “Dr. Jolly”, billed as an accomplished script-writer, says that he is looking to collaborate with fresh talent, & sends off a letter on Steven’s behalf. When the reply comes, Steven prepares to go & meet the doctor.
“Good stories need twists,” Dr. Jolly’s letter states, & this is where the movie takes some very interesting ones, with more ‘unfortunate events’ than a Lemony Snicket tale.
Okay, maybe not, but “The Big Cimewave” is a unique little movie, to say the least. Though it may not be for everyone, those enamored of obscure, unusual cinema will surely find much to enjoy. At first, it may seem rather sanitised, considering the entire film appears to be styled after 1950s documentary filmstrips. Yet beneath this seemingly sterile surface, one discovers a very intimate film (particularly in its depiction of the developing relationship between Steven & Kim), well in touch with the artistic temperament (not only in its treatment of Steven‘s travails, but in the end result: truth is often stranger than fiction, & inspiration is sometimes closer than you think), & peppered with moments of clever grittiness (like Kim offering to sneak Steven into the house one evening to listen to her parents having sex), surrealism (the word “twists” floating in through Steven’s window, accompanied by soft piano music, as he drifts into sleep), & sheer hilarious brilliance (a dog driving a pick-up, a bizarre streetlamp mishap, & a fictional killer shoving a broom handle between the spokes of a wheelchair & cramming Milkbones down its occupant’s throat).
Oh yeah, & even gore-hounds will get their fix, thanks to one exploding head.
There’s another write-up, but I can’t seem to get it done right now. The scent of new shoes & Chinese food has warped my brain. Next time, for sure.
And there were decent things on tv, as well. ^_^ But back to the shoes. We were at the chiropractor’s, which is about 20 minutes or so from here (he used to be closer, but moved about a year ago). My grandpa, who’s been an absolute gem as I go insane searching for footwear, was wondering if there were any shoe stores in that area, & asked him after I’d finished my session. He said there were 2 that he could think of. One was a little further away, so we decided to check out the closer one, & the other we’ll look in next time I go to chiro.
Anywho, the one we looked in was a Marty’s Shoes; we have one not too far from where we live, which we tried once before, with no luck. This one was having a sale, though at first, it seemed like there wasn’t anything remotely like what I was looking for, & anything that vaguely fit the bill wasn’t in a size my feet would tolerate. So we’re about to give up - we were actually on our way out - when right there in the corner behind the front door, what should I spot, but these:
http://www.martyshoes.com/store/media/liz-f04nancysuede500.jpg
They didn’t have the suede in my size, so I had to get the leather. They’re not exactly what I wanted, but they’re not too bad a compromise. And they were only $20. They only had one pair in the size I needed, but it’s a start. Still gonna check out the other store next time. You never know.
Then we went to China Moon, the little Chinese place just over the bridge ‘round the corner from my house, ‘cuz I’ve had a hankering for Asian food lately, & watching “Iron Chef” made me want it even more! Plus, we haven’t gotten Chinese take-out since the end of last summer. My grandpa always tends to pick up the lunch tab when we go out, even if I offer to, so this time, it was totally my treat. We got so much stuff! And it’s not expensive at all. It was so tremendous - y’know sometimes you haven’t had something in a while, & it just tastes FANTASTIC when you get ‘round to having it again? We even tried some new things: the steamed dumplings, the wonton-egg drop soup (I never knew they had that kind of soup! Wonton, yes; egg-drop, sure - but both? Wow!), the boneless, honey-glazed spare ribs (sorry, we’re carnivores). Between that, & old favourites like the spring rolls, the fried rice, & the stir-fry veggies...oh, man, I’m drooling just thinking about it.
So as I towel off the slobber, you check this out.
Like something out of a World War II-era newsreel, a boisterous voice sets the stage for an exciting tale of one man’s attempt to conquer the world of celebrity impersonators, by any means necessary...
Uh, scratch that.
So begins a little-known Canadian effort called “The Big Crimewave” (http://www.impossiblefunky.com/archives/issue_9/9_crimewave.htm), the story of Steven Penny, an aspiring screenwriter, & his struggle to complete a screenplay titled - what else? - The Big Crimewave.
Steven’s endeavours are chronicled through the eyes of Kim, a young girl whose family rented Steven the apartment over their garage. That first draft of the opening scene of Crimewave, which opens the film, was written on the back of the lease. Kim collects Steven’s rejected ideas (most often by fishing them out of the trash), & each discarded snippet or subsequent revision is visualised on-screen, presented as it would have appeared in the finished version of Steven’s movie. This may be a bit confusing for viewers, as it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish story from story-within-a-story, but I think it’s done for a reason: to accentuate the artist’s perspective, in which, when engrossed in a creative project, the line between fantasy & reality blurs, occasionally vanishing altogether.
The normally quiet, reclusive, & somewhat eccentric Steven (who will only write by the light of a streetlamp), soon allows Kim to hang out with him, & begins to show her brief glimpses of his world, such as his movie camera & unprocessed film, & teach her about the process of film-making (including a nifty exercise in persistence of vision).
Crimewave goes through several incarnations, ranging from celebrity impersonators to product distributors to self-help gurus, but despite its many re-writes, Steven has gotten it no nearer to completion, & his bouts with self-doubt & writer’s block soon stop his progress altogether. (As a one-time writer of poetry & short stories, myself, I can fully appreciate the emotional undertone of such plot points.) At one point, he gives up completely, vowing to remain in bed without moving or eating.
Through it all, Kim sticks by him, & when the dark patch finally blows over, she begins giving him glimpses into her world. Her family invites him to tag along the following evening, when they go to a costume party at a friend’s house. (His costume, & the effect it has on the other party-goers, is a riot!) There, she introduces him to “another quiet man”, the son of the family friend.
It isn’t long before Steven starts coming out of his shell & gets out & about, either with his new friend, with Kim, or on his own. He observes goings-on in the town (like puddles that never dry, or the police using the jaws of life to rescue a car crash victim), & makes the acquaintance of some local men (who are harassed gays). His nights are spent alone, ‘interacting’ with characters from the various drafts of his story.
Kim spots an ad in a magazine dropped by the garbage men, in which a certain “Dr. Jolly”, billed as an accomplished script-writer, says that he is looking to collaborate with fresh talent, & sends off a letter on Steven’s behalf. When the reply comes, Steven prepares to go & meet the doctor.
“Good stories need twists,” Dr. Jolly’s letter states, & this is where the movie takes some very interesting ones, with more ‘unfortunate events’ than a Lemony Snicket tale.
Okay, maybe not, but “The Big Cimewave” is a unique little movie, to say the least. Though it may not be for everyone, those enamored of obscure, unusual cinema will surely find much to enjoy. At first, it may seem rather sanitised, considering the entire film appears to be styled after 1950s documentary filmstrips. Yet beneath this seemingly sterile surface, one discovers a very intimate film (particularly in its depiction of the developing relationship between Steven & Kim), well in touch with the artistic temperament (not only in its treatment of Steven‘s travails, but in the end result: truth is often stranger than fiction, & inspiration is sometimes closer than you think), & peppered with moments of clever grittiness (like Kim offering to sneak Steven into the house one evening to listen to her parents having sex), surrealism (the word “twists” floating in through Steven’s window, accompanied by soft piano music, as he drifts into sleep), & sheer hilarious brilliance (a dog driving a pick-up, a bizarre streetlamp mishap, & a fictional killer shoving a broom handle between the spokes of a wheelchair & cramming Milkbones down its occupant’s throat).
Oh yeah, & even gore-hounds will get their fix, thanks to one exploding head.
There’s another write-up, but I can’t seem to get it done right now. The scent of new shoes & Chinese food has warped my brain. Next time, for sure.
