Ben (please hold your applause)

About Me

I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V3.6 !
First, I'm a devoted Christian. Second, I'm a creative person. When I look at the column on the left, I realize that there are a lot of words there. Sorry about that. If I may explain: I wrote a lot about movies because I primarily studied film in college. I expounded on music because, when I wrote it, I was an overnight DJ at 107.7 The End, and at the time an abundance of information in that particular category seemed somehow appropriate. I wrote a lot about books because my main ambition is to write fiction. I don't know why I wrote so much about television. I sort of wish I hadn't. I also love visual art. I used to spend my Fridays working at an art gallery in Seattle, selling paintings. Or rather, attempting to sell paintings. Their need for real salespeople is no doubt the reason for my amicable extermination. (I still get invitations to their openings.) The gallery is called Viveza and it's on Western and Vine. My latest endeavor is my apprenticeship. I'm attempting to become an electrician. Because, hey. I have to do something for money. Plus, I'm learning a real, practical skill. And also, I imagine that I'm more likely to sit in front of a computer in the evening writing if I'm not sitting in front of a computer all day working. Other objects of my enthusiasm include my family, travel, coffee, dogs, and the occasional cigar. As I said, my relationship with Jesus comes before everything else. There's curious harmony in being both God's servant and His treasure. Regarding blogs: I think I'm going to use the Myspace blog primarily for my movie reviews. If you want a more personal, journal-type blog from me, go to www.xanga.com/PharaohWizard. If you want to read the journal I kept during the radio-sponored cross-country road trip I took in the summer of '05, copy and paste this one: spaces.msn.com/concertcorrespondent/

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

The stupid and the weak. I enjoy feeling superior to my friends. (What do you want? An apology?)

Music:

Top six, in unranked alphabetical order: The Arcade Fire, The Beatles, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, The White Stripes, and Weezer, pre-Green Album. My most recent CD purchase or purchases: The Kinks: "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part 1"; Queen: "News of the World"; KEXP: "Live from KEXP, Volume 3" (Compilation); Smashing Pumpkins: "Zeitgeist"

Movies:

Blah blah blah movies. I like most of the good ones. Just give me a good story with defined characters. That's really all I ask. My blog is usually movie commentary (more a commentary than a review), wherin I divulge not the reasons I thought a particular movie was good or bad, but share instead a particular morsel I might have learned from a certain film. That is, life lessons from cinema. I try to keep them short.

Television:

I like Deadwood, Arrested Development, Jeopardy, King of the Hill, and vintage Twilight Zone reruns.

Books:

I read the Bible. And, lately, I've been getting into James Michener. Man, and I used to think the Bible was long.

Heroes:

Jesus, Moses, Theodore Roosevelt, Johnny Cash, Scott Melton, Darrell Larson.

My Blog

Leatherheads

Leatherheads, starring George Clooney, Renee Zelwegger, and John Krasinski. Directed by George Clooney. Blood and mud and grit and wisecracks. What’s not to like about a movie that explores the ...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:32:00 PST

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Romantic Comedy 1: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, starring Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Russell Brand, and Bill Hader. Written by Jason Segel. Release date: April 18th. I'm often tough on comed...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:47:00 PST

Run Fat Boy Run

Romanic Comedy 2: Run Fat Boy Run, starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, and Hank Azaria. Written by Simon Pegg and Michael Ian Black. Directed by David Schwimmer. (Yes, that David Schwimmer.) Maybe i...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:43:00 PST

VINT: The Apartment

Roamntic Comedy 3: The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. Written and directed by Billy Wilder. 1960. I was on my way back from one of my favorite pubs with my goo...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:41:00 PST

Vantage Point

Vantage Point, starring Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker. Directed by Pete Travis. Here’s what we call a renter. It wasn’t terrible, but it was nothing special enough to warrant 15+ dol...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:22:00 PST

Cloverfield

Cloverfield, starring Michael Stahl-David, Odette Yustman, T.J. Miller, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, and Mike Vogel. Directed by Matt Reeves. I am happy to report, as I was in my review of Th...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:10:00 PST

There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood, starring D-Day Lewis and Paul Dano. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Based on a novel by Upton Sinclair. Barring the unusual case of Scrooge McDuck, avarice i...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:07:00 PST

Juno

Juno, starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, J.K. Simmons, and Allison Janney. Directed by Jason Reitman. If you're familiar with the music of the Moldy Peaches, yo...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:02:00 PST

Charlie Wilsons War

Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Julia Roberts. Directed by Mike Nichols. Charlie Wilson's War is a study in not judging a book by its cover. Wilson is a s...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:59:00 PST

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass. Starring Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, and Sam Elliot. Based on a novel by Philip Pullman. Story is the lifeblood of a film. The trouble with allegory ...
Posted by Ben (please hold your applause) on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:42:00 PST