Review of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) by Nick M — 07 Feb 2005

...I bet they have something like that in Japan.

First off, I would like to graciously thank all those who commented on my last entry (I'm trying to avoid alluding to it directly in order to keep my sanity for the moment). However brutally honest you were, it helped. I just ran it by a few people I see almost daily and they liked it.

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This morning, I woke up late (well, sort of) and missed my 9:00 class. I dreaded e-mailing the infamously strict attendance nazi (a.k.a. my spanish teacher). So, at 11:41, I sent this (titled "Concerning my absence"):

"There really is no legitimate excuse. I'm not sick, I'm not hungover.

from the Super Bowl and I'm not dead. I'm not going to scape goat.

anything, but I missed class with the assistance of my alarm clock.

When I awoke at 8:05 (just like every other Monday, Wednesday or.

Friday), I reached over the click the "snooze" button (which usually.

gives me an extra few minutes to gain consciousness). Due to the.

unconscious state that I was in, my finger accidentally wandered over.

to the "OFF" button, and I had no idea it did.

So, I'm very sorry for mising the class and not being sick or dead. I.

have a class with a student from our spanish class this afternoon, so I.

will ask him what classwork we did and what was assigned for homework.

I wouldn't want to cause you any inconvenience due to my blunders.

Lo Siento,.

Nick M.".

And to my surprise, he sent this highly complimentary response.

"Dear Nick,.

Your honesty is admirable. You're a good student and a fine person. I'm.

happy that you can get the class notes from a classmate. In addition to.

being honest, you also have a great sense of humor, as your note.

clearly.

show. I look forward to seeing you in class on Wednesday.

Saludos cordiales,.

Dr. Shannon".

It looks like I will have to skip class and write amusing e-mails more often.

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[i].

Wild Strawberries[/i] is an absolutely involving, nostalgic and oddly moving film. It's dream sequences capture a thrilling sense of capriciousness which kept me on edge as I was simultaneously stunned by its heavy symbolic imagery. And how can you not love a film which claims that being sentimental is hypocrisy since all humans are inherently cold. [b]A[/b].

After only a few minutes, it is easy to pick up on [i]The Umbrellas of Cherbourg[/i]'s bouyantly offbeat tone and have fun. The melodrama seemed considerably tolerable since it was offset by the vibrant musical numbers. It is filled with an odd vitality that would be hard to match, despite its depressing moments and darker themes. And my, Catherine Deneuve is gorgeous. Enjoyable fluff of the highest order. [b]B+[/b].

Although it is a cool novelty to see [i]The Perfect Score[/i] a week before your SATs, it is actually a harmful idea, since this movie will most likely make you feel stupider. And at the end of it (yes, my roommate and I watched the whole thing), I seriously said out loud: "Holy sh[color=Navy]i[/color]t...Scarlett, what the f[color=Navy]u[color=Black]ck did you do?[/color][/color]". I hate my university's movie channel. [b]D-[/b].

So I saw [i]Ray [/i]for the Oscars and it met my indifferent expectations, except it was much easier to watch than I expected it to be. Foxx's performance was very good, of course, but I still didn't see a complete transcendance. I feel like I'm taking his performace for granted, but I really wasn't that blown away by him. I was actually surprised by the abundant amount of overacting. Some actors were acting as if they were in a stage production. Ham it up, ladies and gentlemen. It's a standard biopic, but isn't as bland as I expected it to be. If there is one thing I learned from this film, it is that those damn stoner midgets are going to turn all our famous musicians into junkies. [b]B-[/b].

[u]Next up on the queue:[/u].

[i]La Jetée.

My Night at Maud's.

Raging Bull [/i](finally!)[i].

The Seventh Seal.

The Saddest Music in the World.

[/i]Catch ya later, kiddos.