The Women of the Walking Dead →
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Bye-bye, Sugar
Mad Men
creator Matthew Weiner
“The Arrangements” is one of the most memorable episodes for me in the series. It is the fourth episode in the third season (the premiere of which saw Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) receive his “first” kiss from the bellboy at the Baltimore hotel that he and Don stay at), and features the death of Grandpa Gene and this memorable scene in which we witness Sal’s wife, Kitty (Sarah Drew), make the discovery that her husband is a homosexual; a fact we have known since the pilot episode “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”. After Don peeps in on Sal and the bellboy, later Don only reminds Sal to “Limit your Exposure”, to borrow a line from Sterling Cooper’s campaign for London Fog. An advisement Don himself should take.
Here we have what should be a perfect image of a man holding his wife, a commonly warm gesture of love and comfort but her expression is clearly one of discomfort. She has just come face to face with the harsh truth about the man she married.
The heartbroken look in her eyes says it all. Off-camera, Sal is re-enacting the beginning of “Bye Bye Birdie” where Ann‐Margret sings the titular song while running on a treadmill that’s just off-screen. Kitty knows something isn’t right in her marriage.
Sal feels guilty; I think he does love Kitty, but his love is of the platonic, “love you, but not in love with you” sort. She is obviously a caring and devoted wife, (especially considering how little sexual attention he has been giving her) asking Sal what was the matter. Sal offers, “I’m not myself.” His understatement is true, Sal is not who he pretends to be: a heterosexual man. In a way it is passively cruel, like Don cheating on/lying to his wife.
After Sal’s trip to Baltimore with Don, things haven’t been the same in Sal and Kitty’s marriage. Her needs in the boudoir have not been met, and she doesn’t know what to do. Lingerie is just another attempt to get Sal to tend to these needs. He deflects her barrage of questions using work as an excuse. It sells so well (he is in advertising after all) because, in part it is true: he is nervous about directing the commercial.
Kitty comes out in her new lime green nightie. “You like?” she teases. She kisses Sal hard on the mouth. It lacks the passion of the bellboy’s kiss. It lacks the depth and passion of the kiss we saw with the bellboy. It lacks Sal’s reciprocation.
Here we have the compared kiss. Take into consideration the mirror in the background. Sal is more or less a very useful device with which to compare the 2000’s with the 1960’s. The mirror here works in a similar meta‐fashion. It is a reflection of a reflection. Another way of looking at it is as a window to another universe in which Sal is able to openly gay. Another is as a reminder to Sal: This is who you really are. Add in the fact that Sal is drunk and uninhibited, the mirror also says: This is who you could be.
We, the audience are happy to finally see this. We barely survived his disastrous date with Eliot from Belle Jolie, and his pathetic and vain attempt at chasing Ken Cosgrove. We cheer Sal on; we want him to have what he wants. We want him to be happy. He is like Peggy in that way.
The scenes with Peggy and her family are an inverse facsimile of the scene with Sal and his wife. Her mother and sister are finally realizing who Peggy has become. Her mother, a staunch Irish-‐Catholic, rejects this choice. Peggy’s sister is more understanding. Unlike Sal, Peggy embraces this change in herself and is open and honest about it, much to her family’s chagrin. Her acceptance of herself as “one of those girls”, gives her confidence. The confidence which Sal may feel one day if he ever accepts himself. But can he? Although it is not saying much, the world in which they live is a lot nicer to women than it is to gay men. In fact, it wouldn’t even begin to know what a gay man was. So while Sal may be conflicted and “not himself”, in a way, he can’t be. To be himself would be suicide. Because of the times and environment, Sal is forced to be in the closet.
Both scenes play with expectation and disappointment. When Peggy sits her mom down, her mother expects to hear bad news. When Peggy explains that she is having problems with her apartment, her mother expects to hear that Peggy is going to move back in. She’s severely disappointed to hear, of course, that Peggy is moving to Manhattan. Her matter-of‐fact response: “You’ll get raped, you know that?”
Peggy’s mother’s bitter comment flips the sympathy we felt for Kitty after her quiet and understated reaction. After Peggy delivers the news, we feel sorry for her, the bearer of the bad news, not the recipient.
“The Arrangements” was directed by Michael Uppendahl and beautifully shot by Christopher Manley.
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SIGNS
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Movie Night with Luke and Larry, Vol. 2 (Week after Easter Edition)
Is it the biggest Bond? Certainly not by today’s standards: Bond doesn’t fence Madonna or DRIVE AN INVISIBLE CAR OVER ICE WHILE BEING CHASED BY A BEAM OF SOLAR ENERGY HARNESSED BY A SATELLITE MADE OF BLOOD DIAMONDS. Was it at the time? Hard to say really… Arguably, yes, because it tried to outdo the classic Goldfinger in every way.
This film at the time, split the vote with half of the critics loving it and other hating its copious underwater scenes which make up about a ¼ of the movie. Some might call this film Over the Top, but that is the name of another movie. I personally love the way in the old Bonds the plot was unraveled slowly. It let the intrigue build. Casino Royale does this.
Connery looks pretty old in this one, which may explain why he went all The Vapors in You Only Live Twice. I almost turned Japanese once; at least I think so. I met her in a bar off Sheffield, called Dark Horse. She was the type that knew she was hot, so I ignored her and talked to her fat Black friend. At the next bar she wouldn’t stop talking to me about Lord of the Rings (!). At that point I was in love and slightly regretting my aloof act, but I was rolling so hard I couldn’t stop. We exchanged numbers, but I never called her. Fuck me.
This film is cool because: a) Like Curt Shilling after him, Bond kicks everyone’s ass with an ankle injury (gunshot), b) it features a working Jet Pack, c) a sexy torture scene with ice cubes and a cigarillo, and d) “Fucking skyhook!” – Luke (watch The Dark Knight if you don’t know what he was referring to).
One thing is for sure, our generation missed the golden years of Bond. There have only been two great bond films in our generation. Casino Royale and Golden Eye. And that’s it. If you were alive during the series first 6/7 films, you have a bit more to be boastful about.
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Movie Night with Luke and Larry, Vol. 1 (Easter Edition)
Luke and I watch a lot of movies, thanks to Brian Williams gracious lending of netflix. What I like about it is that it allows me to catch many classic films that I otherwise might not have seen. Films like Nosferatu, Giant, and Dead Snow. Netflix even has The Other Guys now and Toy Story 3. Two movies that make me cry, but for completely different reasons.
The film is Dead Snow. It’s The Evil Dead meets The Pianist except set on Hoth. One character rides around on a snowmobile fixed with a .50 caliber cannon while another contemplates cutting off his own dick with a chainsaw. Seriously, google image that shit.
Intrigued much? Just watch it, it’s fucking awesome. It’s on netflix so if you have a heart, a brain, and a dick, then nothing can stand in your way. Except maybe your wife, who legally/officially owns all three of those things, and hates everything that you and/or I like. If you are a woman, and unmarried, and not a total faggot (and I mean that in the most negative way possible) you may like it.
Ironically Dead Snow takes place on Easter weekend, a fact of which I was unaware as I sat and Luke slept to watch it earlier tonight. And a fact of which kinda relates to the whole resurrection thing. It’s also apt because today in history class we discussed the Weimar Republic and Hitler’s rise to power [because the zombies in the film are Nazis. (non-COD players and COD players alike will still love it)]. On a side note, it’s hard for me to pay attention in that class because of the uber-cute Filipino chick that I constantly stare at and stalk on the internets. P.S. Turns out, she’s one of those wild MTV girls. Turns out, no one cares.
I will warn the viewers out there, that this film reinforces just how low Finland is on the Nordic totem pole. First off, the characters bash Finnish moonshine which I interpret as meaning that the Fins are the hill-folk of the highlands, and second off, I have had Finlandia vodka. It fucking sucks. That may offend some people in the audience with Finnish blood. I personally don’t give a fuck. Fucking Norway, where have you been all my life? There are probably many other cultural references that were lost in translation and therefore diminish my viewing pleasure to some minor degree, but I don’t care, I enjoyed this movie.
Ten Stars. A plus plus.
Who the fuck am I kidding? No one will watch this. I’d be amazed if anyone is still reading.
Also, watch this video:
The band is called The Number Twelve Looks Like You, and they are now defunct. Their drummer is a total madman and if you search Jon Karel on youtube you WILL BE wowed by his technique. I’ve always wanted to be a drummer. And a singer. I know what you’re thinking, I’ve always wanted to be Chad Moore. You are right! He’s a much better looking man than I, and much more fun to be around. He took a picture of Bay for Christ’s sake.
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The Film Scott Has Been Waiting For His Entire Whole Life Always And Forever And Ever Times Infinity
Boston Movie Trailer – watch more funny videos.
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Arrested
If you’ve not done so yet, and by yet I mean in the past four or so years that it has been available, I highly encourage you to purchase all three seasons of Arrested Development, for the low low price of $28.
You won’t regret it. Unless you overdraft your account. In which case you might regret the decision, mostly because the fees will cost more than your purchase.
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Super There Will Be Blood
Super There Will Be Blood from Tomfoolery Pictures on Vimeo.
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The Shining RECUT
Just in time for Halloween. Also sparked the heavy Peter Gabriel phase I’m going through.
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I’m a Mad Man
I’ve been obsessed with AMC’s Man Men lately. Going as far as downloading the entire series and marathon-ing episodes exclusively in my downtime. If you’ve watched enough of the show, these clips, from last season’s Jon Hamm hosted SNL episode, are only made funnier; mostly by expounding the traits detailed by each character (especially Draper himself) and the dynamics of relationships between them. You can really tell that the writers of the sketch were fans of the show and of the characters, their portraits are whimsical yet flattering and absolutely accurate. The drink suggestions in the second video being the most telling. Enjoy!
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