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lists about nothing
Dec. 28th, 2004 08:52 pmI hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful holiday season.
Moving into my new office at the university, it struck me how much the walls reflect my intellectual schizophrenia and eccentricity.
I love them.
You see, my office walls now include the following:
*a J.D. Challenger print entitled "And They Speak of Liberty," featuring a sad and somber Native American figure, dressed in traditional garb and draped in the U.S. flag, rising above the Statue of Liberty
*a current map of the Native American nations in the United States
*two prints from the Bodleian Library of J.R.R. Tolkien's artwork: one from the original book jacket of The Hobbit, and one of "The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the-Water"
*two small prints of vintage science fiction movie posters: one from the 1927 original version of Metropolis and one from the 1956 original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers
*the inevitable "I Want to Believe" UFO poster, a la Fox Mulder's office
(The same print also hangs in my home office. Because.)
*a small Captain Proton mock-vintage poster from Star Trek: Voyager (featuring Lt. Tom Paris as Captain Proton, of course)
and, last but not least,
*the "Have You Seen This Wizard?" Sirius Black poster from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
::sigh:: It is good.
While I am on a roll of listing things of importance only to me -- I blame the prescriptions I'm still taking to combat my lingering respiratory infection -- it also strikes me how many films I'm looking forward to in 2005. I can't remember how long it's been since this many films are on my "must see" list in the same year. In order of ridiculous enthusiasm, roughly, they are at present...
1. Serenity
If I were any more excited about this film, my head would explode. Rather than make such a mess, I'll occupy myself with the Firefly DVDs until September.
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Obviously. Sadly Lupin-lite, but there's always Snape to console me.
3. Kingdom of Heaven
Ridley Scott will likely make mincemeat of the history, but for Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons and David Thewlis and Alexander Siddig all together, with swords, I can temporarily mute my inner historian.
4. The New World
I'm excited about this in the same way people are fascinated by natural disasters: a guilty blend of morbid curiosity and animal fear. I want filmmakers' hands on 1607 far, far less even than I want them on the Crusades. That said, it is a matter of professional and personal necessity that I watch any interpretation of John Smith, Pocahontas, and Jamestown. Oh, and I also support Wes Studi, a truly great and unsung actor, at every given opportunity. And the combination of Wes Studi, David Thewlis, and Christopher Plummer outweighs the Colin Farrell factor. So we'll see.
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Another no-brainer. Some of the casting looks quite inspired, to boot.
6. Batman Begins
Liam Neeson as a mystical mentor figure? I'm there. Sir Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman are just icing on the cake. And of course it helps that Batman is one of my very favorite superheroes.
7. The Chronicles of Narnia
Let's see what the first big-budget fantasy film to follow The Return of the King's eleven Academy Awards looks like, shall we? And C.S. Lewis is a fellow Inkling with J.R.R. Tolkien, after all.
8. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
I do recall swearing (quite loudly) upon leaving the theater after Attack of the Clones that George Lucas would not fool me again and lure me into the movie theater. How long my resolve will last remains to be seen. On the negative side: Hayden Christensen. George Lucas. More Jar-Jar Binks. No Qui-Gon Jinn. And my pride. On the positive side: Ewan McGregor. Natalie Portman. Yoda. The battle scene. The fact that I have been a consistent Star Wars fan since the age of five and a half. And closure. Tough call. Either way, I'm anxious for the novelization, the spoilers, and the general fannishness.
And now, for the quotes of the day, to add some content to this otherwise frivolous post:
...So now my prayer is this:
You, my own deep soul,
trust me. I will not betray you.
My blood is alive with many voices
telling me I am made of longing.
and one more quote, from the same poet
...Even when we don't desire it,
God is ripening.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke
(Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, translators)
Moving into my new office at the university, it struck me how much the walls reflect my intellectual schizophrenia and eccentricity.
I love them.
You see, my office walls now include the following:
*a J.D. Challenger print entitled "And They Speak of Liberty," featuring a sad and somber Native American figure, dressed in traditional garb and draped in the U.S. flag, rising above the Statue of Liberty
*a current map of the Native American nations in the United States
*two prints from the Bodleian Library of J.R.R. Tolkien's artwork: one from the original book jacket of The Hobbit, and one of "The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the-Water"
*two small prints of vintage science fiction movie posters: one from the 1927 original version of Metropolis and one from the 1956 original version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers
*the inevitable "I Want to Believe" UFO poster, a la Fox Mulder's office
(The same print also hangs in my home office. Because.)
*a small Captain Proton mock-vintage poster from Star Trek: Voyager (featuring Lt. Tom Paris as Captain Proton, of course)
and, last but not least,
*the "Have You Seen This Wizard?" Sirius Black poster from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
::sigh:: It is good.
While I am on a roll of listing things of importance only to me -- I blame the prescriptions I'm still taking to combat my lingering respiratory infection -- it also strikes me how many films I'm looking forward to in 2005. I can't remember how long it's been since this many films are on my "must see" list in the same year. In order of ridiculous enthusiasm, roughly, they are at present...
1. Serenity
If I were any more excited about this film, my head would explode. Rather than make such a mess, I'll occupy myself with the Firefly DVDs until September.
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Obviously. Sadly Lupin-lite, but there's always Snape to console me.
3. Kingdom of Heaven
Ridley Scott will likely make mincemeat of the history, but for Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons and David Thewlis and Alexander Siddig all together, with swords, I can temporarily mute my inner historian.
4. The New World
I'm excited about this in the same way people are fascinated by natural disasters: a guilty blend of morbid curiosity and animal fear. I want filmmakers' hands on 1607 far, far less even than I want them on the Crusades. That said, it is a matter of professional and personal necessity that I watch any interpretation of John Smith, Pocahontas, and Jamestown. Oh, and I also support Wes Studi, a truly great and unsung actor, at every given opportunity. And the combination of Wes Studi, David Thewlis, and Christopher Plummer outweighs the Colin Farrell factor. So we'll see.
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Another no-brainer. Some of the casting looks quite inspired, to boot.
6. Batman Begins
Liam Neeson as a mystical mentor figure? I'm there. Sir Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman are just icing on the cake. And of course it helps that Batman is one of my very favorite superheroes.
7. The Chronicles of Narnia
Let's see what the first big-budget fantasy film to follow The Return of the King's eleven Academy Awards looks like, shall we? And C.S. Lewis is a fellow Inkling with J.R.R. Tolkien, after all.
8. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
I do recall swearing (quite loudly) upon leaving the theater after Attack of the Clones that George Lucas would not fool me again and lure me into the movie theater. How long my resolve will last remains to be seen. On the negative side: Hayden Christensen. George Lucas. More Jar-Jar Binks. No Qui-Gon Jinn. And my pride. On the positive side: Ewan McGregor. Natalie Portman. Yoda. The battle scene. The fact that I have been a consistent Star Wars fan since the age of five and a half. And closure. Tough call. Either way, I'm anxious for the novelization, the spoilers, and the general fannishness.
And now, for the quotes of the day, to add some content to this otherwise frivolous post:
...So now my prayer is this:
You, my own deep soul,
trust me. I will not betray you.
My blood is alive with many voices
telling me I am made of longing.
and one more quote, from the same poet
...Even when we don't desire it,
God is ripening.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke
(Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, translators)