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Author Message
25 new of 241 responses total.
mary
response 76 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 15 10:40 UTC 1999

One of the most common complications of a general anesthetic
is corneal abrasion.  Taping is an easy way to prevent it.

Residents, on the other hand, frequently need to have their
eyes taped open.

"American Beauty" is a stunningly perfect film.  Bravo to
the writer, director and the incredible ensemble cast.
remmers
response 77 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 15 17:01 UTC 1999

Yes. Kudos also to the State Theater (where we saw it) for upgrading
their projection and sound system so as to make seeing a film there
a pleasurable experience, at long last.
aruba
response 78 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 15 17:05 UTC 1999

Hey, that's good news.
jazz
response 79 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 15 22:09 UTC 1999

        Hm.  I did enjoy it, but I found it a bit moralizing in tone.
mary
response 80 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 15 23:23 UTC 1999

We are cheering on as a hero a man who is breaking some of
society's most cherished taboos.  My kind of moralizing. ;-)
scg
response 81 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 16 00:59 UTC 1999

Did the State Theater do anything about its seats, or are they still horribly
cramped?

I've been in pain after the last few movies I saw there, so I haven't been
tempted to return.
md
response 82 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 16 01:39 UTC 1999

THE FIGHT CLUB (C) -- Another adolescent gay fantasy 
from David Fincher involving rough trade with shaved 
heads, and one pathetic female outsider.  Think Alien^3.
Lots of muscles, sweat, adrogeny, faux-noir scenes.
It was on its way to turning into a fairly interesting
thriller when the writers apparently gave up and turned
it into a groaner.  You literally groan and shake your
head, and if you stay it's just to see how it ends.
md
response 83 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 16 01:40 UTC 1999

["Androgyny" I think.]
mcnally
response 84 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 16 02:39 UTC 1999

  re #81:  Their seats are still pretty awful and the theaters still
  have that vertigo-inducing "the geometry of this room is just not right"
  thing going on, but hopefully they'll at least fix the seating sometime.

  They seem to be improving things for the long haul, and since they never
  fill the place (at least not when I'm there) it seems like they could
  get away with a few fewer seats and more room per customer..
shf
response 85 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 16 22:48 UTC 1999

The state is basically the balcony with the lower floor partioned off into
some other business.  I think the vertigo comes from one's knowing you are
in the balcony and yet the floor is right in fron tof you:)
knocker
response 86 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 17 04:38 UTC 1999

The Thomas Crown Affair

Chick flick.  Rich selfish guy drives amoral woman insurance investigator to 
distraction by leaving her unsure about his feelings for her while weaving an
intricate museum theft.  Some pretty hot scenes with Rene Russo and Pierce 
Brosnan, including a public dance in a dress that leaves nothing to the 
imagination.

Otherwise, the plot was only marginally interesting and very implausible.
richard
response 87 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 18 15:09 UTC 1999

"AMERICAN BEAUTY"-- Really good movie about a seemingly ordinary suburban
couple Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning, going through mid-life crises and
coming to terms with their own functionality and dysfunctionality.  Very
smiliar to another really good movie from two years ago, "The Ice Storm",
although more of a comedy.  Salesman Spacey starts lusting after his
teenage daughter's new best friend and lapses into a midlife crisis trying
to relive his teen years.  Wife Annette Benning also lapses into her own
crisis and starts finding her own ways to relieve her frustrations.  At
the same time, we see their neighbors-- who, unlike them, really *are*
dysfunctional, and you can see the difference (the neighbors' relationship
is hopeless and beyond saving, whereas Spacey/Benning are not)  Their
daughter takes up with the neighbor's son, a drug dealer who is
essentially the hero of the movie, as he is the only character who is
capable of seeing the beauty in life, and in fact is so awestruck by
life's beauty that he tries to film everything.  This in spite of that he
has a horrid homelife and is regularly beaten by his neo-nazi father.

This is intended as a slice of suburban life, and shows how much we live
our lives in denial of what is really out there.  At first I had a problem
with the ending of the film, which I wont give away except to say its
quite unsettling, but upon reflection I think it made sense.  A really
well made film that deserves Best Picture nomination consideration.

AMERICAN BEAUTY-- **** (four stars)
jazz
response 88 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 18 15:52 UTC 1999

        No, his father wasn't a Neo-Nazi.
richard
response 89 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 18 16:05 UTC 1999

#88..yeah he just had a display case full of weapons and a plate with a 
swastika on the back of it.  IMO he was a neo-nazi, but you dont know 
for sure
flem
response 90 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 18 17:15 UTC 1999

I'd probably go so far as redneck, but not neo-nazi.  But a great 
flick, by all means.  
mary
response 91 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 18 18:04 UTC 1999

He was a retired military officer.  Our military.  He was probably
an excellent officer. ;-)
tpryan
response 92 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 19 02:12 UTC 1999

<drift>
        Would a retired military officer (USA) be likely to display a
captured Nazi flag?
</drift>
/
mcnally
response 93 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 19 04:42 UTC 1999

  (when would a retired military officer who was the father of a teenage
   son in a movie set in the present day have been in a position to have
   captured a Nazi flag?)
mary
response 94 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 19 12:34 UTC 1999

(He *collected* Nazi artifacts.  The plate was described as his
 most prized possession.)
jazz
response 95 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 19 13:26 UTC 1999

        It wasn't a flag, though, it was a plate with a swastika on the back.

        I understand that it's a fairly common practice for people who've been
in war to keep trophies.  And I can see where the confusion came from, since
his father's arch-authoritarian ways could easily be called "Nazi-like" in
this day and age.
bru
response 96 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 19 13:34 UTC 1999

authoritarian should not be linked to nazism.  You can be authoritarian
without being a nazi.
flem
response 97 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 19 14:49 UTC 1999

In this case, the father's age did make it seem likely that he was not, 
in fact, involved in WW2.  Also, the plate in question was described as 
the only Nazi artifact in a *large* collection of wartime memorabilia 
from many eras.  (I'm not quite sure I believe that; some of the guns I 
saw looked German and looked to be about the right age, but my 
knowledge of guns is at best minimal.)  
jazz
response 98 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 19 15:28 UTC 1999

        Authoritarianism *is* liked with Naziism, and it's common to call an
authoritarian of any stripe a "Nazi".  Where've you been in these last
few years?
drew
response 99 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 20 01:20 UTC 1999

"Nazi-like" - Heavy on the do's and don'ts.
bdh3
response 100 of 241: Mark Unseen   Oct 20 05:33 UTC 1999

Yeah, like the US government these days.
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