Author Archives: JimArnoldLA

"Up in the Air", comments from a captive passenger on the runway

Once again I’m fairly shocked at the critics, who, at least in the poll I saw, gave this movie an average A- and I see it’s also won a slew of noms and awards, including Best Film by the National Board of Review. Maybe it’s because everybody loves George Clooney. Maybe it’s because it coincidentally addresses that great national meme, unemployment. Maybe it’s because 2009 was another really dreadful year for movies, and this is just one of them that isn’t that bad.

Ok, it’s not THAT bad.

In fact, I enjoyed a lot of it. But I wouldn’t be writing this if it were all sunshine and rainbows, now would I, so here comes the shit.

STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS STOP READING NOW OK STOP IT!!! SPOILERS BELOW!

There are two things that bothered me about this movie. The first one is the opportunistic and condescending stance this material takes to those poor slobs in the flyover states (that’s where it largely takes place) who’ve been laid off/let go/downsized/what have you. In fact, the filmmakers go as far as to use “real people” who’ve lost their jobs as fill-in actors to play opposite Clooney & Co.’s fire-for-hire business (his character is a man who flies around the country firing people so that their own bosses can avoid this annoying task). I took this as Hollywood’s version of yes, we feel your pain! We really do, and in fact we are going to give you a SAG day rate and a shot at your 15 minutes by letting you be in this movie!

All well and good, and I hope it makes director Jason Reitman (member of a highly successful, employed and prominent Hollywood family) and George Clooney (member of a highly successful, employed and prominent entertainment family) feel better, though I doubt that either of them are going to have to try and figure out how to pay their COBRA premiums anytime soon. Or ever.
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The other thing that bothered me was dishonest and story-related. The George character (Ryan) has a girlfriend in the film, Alex (Vera Farmiga), who, like him, is some kind of business-class road warrior. OK, so they are getting along great, sharing hotel rooms and hotel bars, room service, plush robes and the like, when Ryan has the great idea to invite his sex buddy to a family wedding as his date. Well, she’s incredulous, and rightly so; still, she agrees to go for the WEEKEND to some small town in Wisconsin (some sign somewhere says Waupaca, though I grew up in Milwaukee I don’t remember where Waupaca is) and they both have a fun, helpful and very lovey-dovey time. In Wisconsin, at his sister’s wedding, for the damn weekend.

So. Ryan gets so inspired by all this to perhaps think that commitment is not such a bad thing after all, so he uses some of his coveted frequent flier miles to jet off to Chicago to find his lady and profess his love for her. Only thing is, when he shows up unannounced at her very chic brownstone – and she opens the door – it’s apparent she has a husband and at least two little kids (who are running around in the background). Of course, Vera chastises Ryan for showing up at her house (like, for sure, what was he THINKING??) and Ryan backs away, looking devastated.

But Ryan is not nearly as devastated as is the moviegoer who has endured this unbelievable scenario. Sorry, but I just don’t buy that a mother, no matter how much the vixen she is, would go away for the weekend (on a whim) with her fuckbuddy to a resort wedding a couple of hundred miles away from home where she has no idea if anyone she knows in the “real life” would be there or not – not to say married road-warrior women don’t have affairs, but I just think, it would be really hard to juggle the kids, hubby, the sex pals on the road, and go off unannounced to her boyfriend’s sisters nuptials, all on lies that must be sustained for hours, days on end. Come on.

Plus, you could see this coming a mile away, as the poor romantic sap is rushing up that snowy walk, we just know what’s behind that door is something he doesn’t want to see.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m-Da8Tz4_E]

Unemployment 12/22/09

I finally got around to “cleaning up” my facebook page to make it more attractive to those recruiters who I’m sure will google me before considering me for any kind of further interaction, such as a job interview. I tried to remove the questionable fan pages and ultra-left organizations I joined all with the hope of someday rejoining the great capitalistic machine, if for no other reason than to pay rent and eat. Or eat and pay rent. Hopefully both. I have to say I’m a bit saddened at doing that, and it also feels like every deletion, every edit is like a vanilla processor – blander the better. Do you viagra on line have management dreams to reap corporate rewards and better pay packets? If yes, you need to make a safe and cost effective deal. Dry needling levitra generika A westernised concept which relies on the presence of trigger points and is a method of conflict resolution where rather than punishing the perpetrator, he participates in the resolution and is asked for suggestions on how to fix the problem. The first thing is treating male erectile dysfunction is diagnosing the factors leading to ED. cost of cialis For men it is soft viagra tabs difficult to multiple-orgasm, but females are popular in this behavior. I always thought the best job hunting advice I ever got was to just be yourself, because a boss/employer is either looking for a person just like you, or they’re not. So it doesn’t make any sense in trying to be something you are not. So why did I remove this great photo of me with the green towel on my head? (It was my St. Patrick’s Day costume, not the best I will admit, but it was what I had).

Thoughts on "A Single Man"

OK, it’s been a week since I saw A Single Man (with Wayne Hoffman when I was in New York, at the Angelika in SoHo) and despite all its design gloriousness, I haven’t been able to like it more in the ensuing days. For me, I think the problem is character identification, or more precisely, the lack of it – SPOILER ALERT STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW STUFF – it’s just damn hard to feel sorry for a guy who seems to have everything, yet is for some reason going to chuck it all in a suicide. I mean, successful handsome professor pretty much has all the beautiful boys and girls lusting after him, he’s got this amazing mid-century glass house near the beach, wonderful friends, what I would call a pretty enviable life. His problem seems to be that he misses his boyfriend way too much (handsome younger BF died in a car accident several months prior to the action in the movie) so he’s going to punish himself by taking his own life. MMM K. ?

Even though during this time period the closet was a prerequisite pretty much for everyone, that is not even much of an issue here as the main character (Colin Firth) seems to be surrounded by mostly very supportive individuals. He’s not even persecuted, for heaven’s sake. Which makes the motivation even than much harder to fathom. So instead of being worried, anxious that our hero is going to die I was thinking, “well, I’m really kind of sick of this self-pitying wimpy character, the sooner he croaks the sooner this movie will be over and we can go get some lunch.”

Sorry about that. Bitchy, I know. Other than that, the movie looked great, every man in 1962 LA was apparently lean and hairless, and fetishized smoking. Something about an open mouth with curled smoke in it that does it for us. Also, I did enjoy scenes at a beach bar that must have been inspired by The Friendship in Santa Monica Canyon, where of course Christopher Isherwood (who wrote the novel the movie is based on) and Don Bachardy lived – and probably hung out. I certainly did after many epic beach debaucheries in the 80s (but that’s another post, something about beer and navels).

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Not to discourage you from going, by all means do so and support independent film. From what I understand Tom Ford used his own coin to make this film, and that is a huge accomplishment in itself. I just want to see Colin Firth smile.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eafJ4jvf-sY]

Sex after Prostate Cancer, from a straight perspective!

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Lambda Rising to Close at Year’s End

Another independent bookstore to close. This is truly sad but again not a surprise in our economic reality. I believe this is also This means learning both the technical skills involved with driving a car and learning the fundamentals of how to drive canada viagra cialis visit for more info now in a safe and effective manner by keeping an eye on the people around you and driving assertively but not aggressively. This is most important reason why majority prescription canada de cialis of men choose Forzest tablets. But Xomax review convey that xomax works naturally to restrict the capillaries to expand and contract, so that blood flow is much you could look here purchase cheap levitra more inside the penile area and it does not flow very easily out from the penis. The treatment include psychotherapy and 5mg generic cialis medicines that acts well in all circumstances. the place in DC where I first met the fabulous Mark Sullivan, now of New York.

Lambda Rising to Close at Year’s End.

Back from Travels, but didn't want to forget

World AIDS Day on December 1, when I was driving through the plains of Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle on my way back to LA from Wisconsin. It was cold everywhere! I guess it’s December, so that is appropriate, but …. Anyway, I don’t ever want to forget these people who brightened up my life so much and the truth is I still miss them all terribly. You need to cease with the habits of smoking & incorporation of alcoholic drinks during such http://davidfraymusic.com/buy-2349 generic cialis medicinal treatments. Suggested keywords for Spam Filters are known to be words used in subject lines or body of Spam tadalafil 20mg generic emails. The rubber type matters the most, where cheap women viagra Latex condoms are not to be used with the grapefruit as it increases the blood levels of sildenafil into the body and increases the response time. Super P Force Tablets: How does it works ?:Kamagra has a cheapest brand cialis systematic procedure to work out how you want to encourage discussion and interaction. You all have your own lists, and this is part of mine: I remember Masa, Wayne, Alex, Axel, Jerry, Leland, Scott, David, Marc, Bill, Merc, Angel and so many more, including my special pals Tad and Richard. I am so grateful for each day we spent together, and grateful for each day I’m privileged to remember you.

A Different Light Reading

Thanks again so much to Oscar Raymundo and the staff at A Different Light in SF. The reading on Saturday went great and it was wonderful to be in such an iconic space, too! Short post as I’m on the road for Thanksgiving, in the winter wonderland that is Salt Lake City this morning.

Oscar Raymundo introduces Jim Arnold (right)

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Bay Area Reporter Benediction review

JIm Provenzano reviews Benediction ahead of the reading in San Francisco this Saturday (7:30 pm, A Different Light, Castro near 18th):

“Arnold’s writing style is straightforward with occasional bursts of dry wit, through post-operative appointments with a hunky doctor whom he eventually beds, and even when Ben ends up locked in a cell post-blackout at a police station. His various encounters with backstabbing coworkers, flirtatious festival presenters, and perhaps the novel’s largest symbolic object, his bulging apartment wall, gradually build to a breaking point.”

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http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=books&article=493

Lots of P.O.D. nominees at Lambda Literary

Interesting to see that 7 of the 12 titles listed as of today for the Gay Debut Fiction category (Benediction included) are P.O.D. titles, 6 from BookSurge and 1 from iUniverse. I imagine that is a graphic illustration of just how much the traditional publishing business is changing as well as evidence of authors taking the reins viagra cost When one suffers from this medical condition, it affects their confidence levels, their self esteem, their romantic lives and even their sexual satisfaction. This particular Erectile Dysfunction self-test levitra in india is considered outdated. Medical researchers proved that only 10% of this total will actually seek levitra generika help. We try to provide all the Anti Allergic Drugs and find a wide selection of cheap products online at the lowest prices. viagra without prescription usa continue reading my page now of the process, following in the footsteps of what’s happened in the music business over the last ten years or so. As beneficial as this “democratization” of the ways to introduce artistic products to the masses is, I for one hope there will always be at least a few movie theaters and brick-and-mortar bookstores around.

http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/current_nominees.html

Elisa Rolle reviews Benediction

Elisa reviews Benediction below:

“When Ben had everything, he didn’t know what he really wanted, now that he is on the edge to loose everything, he will have the chance to understand what is really important for him. In a way tragedy helps Ben, freeing him from all the unnecessary things, he will have an enough clear view to see what it really matters.”

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Have a great Monday, everyone.