hallowe'en in PR

I got my first real taste of Puerto Rican nightlife this weekend at a nightclub inside the gorgeous El San Juan Hotel. My gal pal partners in crime sent me in first to check out the lobby - there was no one in costume, so we almost left until we saw a few costumed individuals strolling in the side entrance. we parked and made our way to Brava, the club behind the lobby, where there was a long line of pirates, convicts, witches, and other scantily clad individuals waiting to get in. I've never been in a tropical climate for hallowe'en - it makes quite a difference. the essential costume is as-little-as-possible, with some variations in style. the music was a mix of reggaeton (of course), hiphop, house, techno, rock, and Puerto Rican pop. it took an hour to get in and 20 minutes to get mojitos. it was a fun girls' night out, but of course I was ready to go home a full 2 hours before my friends. I'm hoping to catch more costumes tonight and tomorrow night in the streets of old san juan - there have been parties every night since friday.

dry spell

not an indie film - a fair description of my movie life. believe me, it hurts me more than it does you not to be able to provide you with scintillating reviews of all the latest flicks. today's disappointment: caribbean cinemas promised to open The Science of Sleep here today but alas - no opening, and now, no release date at all attached to the little logo advertising it as a movie 'coming soon.' withdrawal has set in. I try to cope by scouring movie listings around the country and adding all the latest and greatest to my netflix queue but let's face it: that's pretty sad. most of them come up "release date unknown" and I can't help wondering if I'll ever see them. I know you don't really feel sorry for me, what with me being compensated for this dramatic shift in my cultural intake by living on a caribbean island, but a little sympathy would be appreciated. and while you're at it, shed a tear for the multide of mosquito bites that have taken over my body. we're trying to move to a more mosquito-free environment, but no luck so far. of course, I'll keep you posted.

the departed

this movie begs the eternal question: why re-make a perfectly awesome movie simply so that white guys can act it out in english? infernal affairs is a fantastic 2002 Chinese action thriller. the departed is the same movie, with famous Hollywood actors. there were some slight changes, which I mostly saw as weaknesses, not improvements. the biggest change was in the ending, which of course I won't give away, but disappointed me with its non-sensicalness - the American touch. I would hate to see Scorcese win an Oscar just for stealing a movie. The cast was decent, with the exception of Vera Farmiga, who was much better in Running Scared. Jack Nicholson was entertaining but a little over the top, and the whole FBI complication was unecessary. feel free to argue with me.

the illusionist

it seems this is one of those movies where the ending is really obvious to everyone else, but I just sit there, mouth hanging open, watching the story progress until the sudden surprise ending. when it comes to movie plot-guessing, I'm dumb. ths is a cute period piece but in my eyes, it wasn't much more. I found it hard to care about the characters, although I tend to love Rufus Sewell and this movie provided no exception. the most exciting aspect of the whole experience was visting Puerto Rico's newest movie theatre, the Fine Arts Cafe. true to its name, it serves beer, wine, packaged sushi rolls, sandwiches, salads and really delicious-looking cakes - all overpriced of course. the seats are very cushy and resemble seats in the first class section of an airplane with their little trays and drink holders, lean back-ability and plastic comfort. I'll definitely be going back although the movie tickets are a bit pricey - $7.50!!

tv shows

lest you think that my dearth of film-watching means that I am now, suddenly, involved in very active and productive pursuits, I wanted to assure you that in fact I have merely shifted to spending most of my obsessive media-absorbing time to television shows. so what am I watching? I watched season 3 of entourage, which I found very amusing, especially johnny's excursions into his latent gayness and vincent's spate of bad luck. I also just finished season 3 of angel - this show just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to start season 4 later today and remember - don't tell me anything that happens!! right now I am in the middle of season 1 of 24 and felicity, both pretty good but I enjoy felicity more because it is less violent and has fun alias pople on it, although 24 already has some great appearances by other tv show luminaries like eric balfour and kathleen wilhoite. in non-DVD tv, I am watching the new gilmore girls and battlestar galactica. gilmore is kind of going downhill but battlestar is as thrilling as ever. and just to contradict my earlier statements, I am going to see a movie later today, and yesterday I went horseback riding on the beach. life is good!

cake

an old friend from New York, Nisha Ganatra, directed this romantic comedy. it's cute and predictable with a pretty decent cast: Heather Graham, Sandra Oh, Taye Diggs and Christopher from the Gilmore Girls (David Sutcliffe). also, it unabashedly takes place in canada. support Nisha and watch this movie next time you're in the mood for some pure fluff.