Molo at the Movies (couch version): Safety Not Guaranteed

No doubt you have heard of this little film, Safety Not Guaranteed, heralded for it's sweet charm and honest humor, and those are fair compliments.  As always, I'm going to talk around the significant plot points - but the flick has to do with a reporter and 2 interns following up on an ad placed in craigslist asking for a partner to go back in time.  What starts as a story about a potential quirk (and an excuse for the reporter to visit a lost flame) ends up being the story of lost souls finding each other in the present...OH SHOOT, I just basically gave the whole thing away - but that simple, obvious tale is not really why you should watch this movie.  Watch it for Aubrey Plaza.  She's my new actress crush, so good, so smart ass/deadpan.  She's my favorite thing about Parks & Rec and in this movie, plays a similar dark, quippy character, but infused with a bit of vulnerability...

Oh my.

That, and Mark Duplass, overdoing it a bit as the would-be time traveler but still very likable.  Over the last few months I have watched Mark in The League, which is a fantastic program, if you like fantasy football and raunchy humor and he's become one of my favorite 2d personalities.  I never did see Lynn Shelton's Humpday, another locally made film (Safety Not Guaranteed starts off in Seattle and travels to "Ocean View" a stand in for Ocean Shores, and was filmed/produced locally, if I have my facts straight).  Any who, he does a good job with the obvious material.

Safety Not Guaranteed  3.5 Molos

Molo at the Movies: Skyfall

Yes, yes, I'm back with a movie review!  It has been sometime, hasn't it?  Perhaps since Prometheus?  Hell did I even bother with that one?  I can't even remember, but I here we go- James effing Bond is back, the steely stare of D Craig in his tightly tailored suit kicking ass on the screen.  This is the 50th anniversary since  Dr. No's release and director Sam Mendes has definitely thrown in some classics nods to earlier bonds, the old Aston Martin (above) being a nice highlight, but you've got chase scenes which go through an open air market (classic, and kind of boring here), disfigured evil bad guy, falling into a pit with dangerous animals (Trevor and Jared really appreciated that one), a sexy exotic lady of course, some sadistic killing by bad guy, and some nods of out with the new and in with the old (to go into, I shall not, I don't want to actually give away plot points)  but where is the fun?

That's the thing, I realized, with this one, and all the new bonds...they nailed the bad-ass-ness of Bond, but are way low on the fun factor.  And I don't mean just cool fights and explosions and such - but new bond is so gritty and so determined, he never seems to be having a good time.  There's a promise of more work at the end of Skyfall, of getting back to the job, and Bond is all ready to go, but if it's going to be just grey stark emotionless, serious stuff, do we need to even bother?

It's refreshing when we finally meet Javier Barden -

because despite the cliche classic evil bond character references, he's having fun with this material finally here's something light and airy in a dreary Bond world - too bad he doesn't appear until like 50 minutes in the film.. (also, his evil power is he is a super-hacker?  REALLY?  That's the best we got these days?  I get that it is kind of plausible, sure, but it isn't really that plausible, I'd rather have giant lazers or exploding the sun or something more crazy)  

I don't know, maybe it's just that it is fall and cold out and I have post-art show depression, but this bond was kind of a drag.

Still, it was better than Quantum of Solace, that's for sure. And I was at least entertained. 

Skyfall  3 Molos. 

Mini-works at Ghost Gallery

There are currently so many delightful little works at Ghost Gallery, I want so many of them, and so many of them are dirt cheap!  It is the 2012 Holiday Miniature Art Extravaganza..  Here's some quick picks I snapped yesterday, go check it out.

 Zoe Williams

 Allyce Wood

 Margot Bird

 SUCK IT NERDS!  

 Ryan Molenkamp on the left there

Roy Powell

Currently showing in the TK (nov '12)

So I finally caught some of the current shows in the TK building, Julie Alpert's Tableau Vivant at Gallery4Culture, Handbound at SOIL, Arrest Me at Punch, and Kate Protage at Core gallery.


Here's some some molorazzi art shots (quick and dirty, apologies to the artists) from my walk-a-bout:

 Julie Alpert at Gallery4Culture

 Kate Protage at Core

 Chris Thorson at Punch - some of those butts are actually little paintings

 Brooks Dierdorff

 Kelly O'Brien (on right)

Lacy Draper

 Amie McNeel

 Tony Sonnenberg (in front)

a lousy shot of the video projection, which had 3 pieces, all good, by Ellen Mueller, 

Rodrigo Valenzuela, and Liz Rodda

Serrah Russell

 Jess Rees at SOIL

 more work from the Handbound show at SOIL

Nights of Serious Drinking

This Thursday, Amanda Manitach and myself present, Nights of Serous Drinking, at Vermillion, Nov 8-Dec 8, with a reception from 6-10 on the 8th.  Here's the FB invite.  You are invited!

Following is a visual preview of the show, sans details: