Human Behavior

I can finally scratch Annie Hall off of my list of movies-to-see. And I must say that I was a little disappointed with the film, mostly because of its being lauded so heartily by most film critics and associations. I watched Manhattan earlier this year and enjoyed it more. From what I understand, most people fell in love with Diane Keaton and her title character after watching it, but to me she was on the border of almost-excruciatingly-annoying. And while Woody Allen almost always plays the anti-hero, he's usually the somewhat likable anti-hero. I didn't feel especially attached or compassionate for either of the two lovers and found myself not really caring about any of their triumphs, troubles or tribulations. I recognize that none of this is necessary for a great film, and I appreciate Allen's innovative (though I cannot confidently say that I know enough of film history to comment on the degree of originality) style, though the very direct style of narration felt a tad uneven. I'm not sure where Annie Hall should be placed in the lists of great films; all I can say is that it's not my favorite Woody Allen film (having seen a whopping 5 of them). That's my first response anyway. I was also finally able to see Death Cab for Cutie's appearance on the O.C. I looked up which episode they were on and then ordered disc 7 of the second season from Netflix. Not it. Ordered disc 6. Not it. Ordered disc 5. Woot for Death Cab for Cutie! Except that it was very brief (which I knew going in, but I still hoped against all hope) and splintered by scenes with annoying O.C. people and melodrama. I can't really speak of the quality of the show since I've never seen an episode, but I think my inability to watch more than the bits around DCFC's performance speaks for itself. And whoever directed that particular episode really doesn't know how to present a live band. In keeping with DVDs from Netflix which I requested for only a small amount of footage, I watched Sam Rockwell's deleted scene from Jarhead. I saw the film when it came out last October and while I liked it, my immediate reaction was: Sam Rockwell was left on the fucking cutting room floor! It is a small scene that really doesn't add much to the movie, but it's Sam Rockwell and he is fantastic.

In local news, there are technically three routes connecting the parking lot for my apartment building and the street, though one is a one-way entrance (the one-way-ness of this route is often ignored, which causes some disagreement when someone is entering at the same time of someone exiting). There is some sort of construction going on in the front of the building; I haven't investigated enough to determine what exactly) and so both two-way routes are closed off because the sidealk is ripped up. This makes for such a fun time of getting in and out of my parking lot that I just want to send a shout-out to the construction crew for their foresight and timeliness.