Michał's blog

A Single Blow

Tonight on INHD I watched A Single Blow. This is a documentary about Naoki Eiga, captain of the Japan Men's Team at the World Kendo Championships. I don't know much about kendo but this was a fascinating film about what it takes to win in kendo. I didn't actually see the whole movie since I discovered it by randomly turning on TV but in the part I watched they have shown the path that Eiga took from focusing on the desire to win to an approach more based on intuition. I'm trivializing a little but this was the part that I took out of the movie. I recommend it if you have a chance to watch it.

Hiding and Seeking

This documentary was showing last week on PBS in the POV series. It was quite interesting to me since it partly involved Poland but mostly because it showed ways of thinking different from what I usually encounter in life. To me the thinking of the sons (or at least one of the sons) in the documentary was hard to understand. I think that people are generally tolerant of each other and it always puzzles me when I see people who openly say that instigating hatred towards other is a valid way of life.

House of Flying Daggers

I watched today House of Flying Daggers at the Bella Botega. I quite liked it although Yiru who we invited said that she saw the movie and it was very bad and Yuan didn't like it too much. All my other friends I can think of liked the film probably even more than I did.

Bad Education (La mala educación)

Kai and I watched today Pedro Almodóvar's Bad Education at the Harvard Exit. We both liked the film very much. After the show we had dinner at the Bacchus Restaurant. I had a very good Moussaka there. I also ordered a glass of Retsina with the dinner but I didn't like it at all.

Cellular

On the flight from Chicago I watched Cellular. It was an OK film for its genre.

E=mc2

I watched on TV a Polish comedy E=mc2. It wasn't a great film but I enjoyed watching it.

I, Robot

On the flight from Chicago to Frankfurt I watched I, Robot. The film was OK to watch on a plane but I'm glad I didn't go to see it in the cinema. Isaac Asimov's stories of the same title would probably be a very interesting read though.

About Schmidt

Today I finished watching About Schmidt. Recently I watch movies recorded on my DVR. The DVR lets me watch a lot of older movies that I have wanted to watch for a while. The downside is that because of my lack of time I often watch movies in many small parts. I think that it took me 5-6 sittings to finish this film.

Groundhog Day

I watched today the Groundhog Day. I have known the basic idea behind the movie for a long time since everyone knows the film and it comes up in cenversations from time to time. But this was the first time that I had a chance to watch it. A DVR is a great idea!

Sideways at the Neptune

I watched Sideways at the Landmark Neptune Theater with Kai and Lingli. I really like the Neptune for its location close to cheap good food in the U-District and for the decor. Here are two pictures I took today at the Neptune.

The film was quite good too and all three of us liked it.

Sixteen Candles

Today I watched Sixteen Candles.

Before Sunset

We had a party until about midnight and after all the guests left we watched Before Sunset.

Joy Luck Club

The long weekend started today with Thanksgiving. In the afternoon I watched the Joy Luck Club based on Amy Tan's book that I read many years ago.
In the late afternoon I went to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by our friends.

National Treasure

Today I watched another movie that we got free tickets for from Microsoft. This time it was National Treasure. Not very different from similar movies like the Tomb Raider or the Indiana Jones trilogy but it was entertaining enough for a Saturday afternoon.