Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Julia/Julie --Quick Take

I have been devouring DVDs while I study, letting them run in the background. Occasionally, a movie will catch my eye or ear and I will watch it.

I had watched Julia/Julie before. It is a lovely movie. A great biographical story about Julia and Paul Child and their life in France where Julia falls in love with French Cooking. This love led to her collaboration with two other French cooks in the development and publishing of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julia Child's name was been widely known for over 40 years, yet I had never read her cookbook since I am not a cook. So, I loved Julie Powell's project to cook 365 of the recipes in Child's cookbook. I have watched the movie many times with and without the Director's commentary.

I am intimidated by Beef Bourguignon but I was intrigued by poached eggs, so I tried it and succeeded! It is a nicely cooked soft boiled egg or maybe-over easy. The only problem is that it is not as easy to eat as it appeared in Julia/Julie. I made a mess of it.

Tony Scott

Two of my favorite movies are Deja Vu and Spy Game. Both movies were directed by Tony Scott. As a nuevo film student, I study his films to understand how movies are made.

On Sunday, August 19, 2012, Tony Scott took his own life. He jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.

What bothers me most about his death is that from the reports I have read, he did not appear to have any   issues, health, financial or otherwise that would have driven him to this act of despair.

I like answers. I want to know why he choose to take his own life. Having a wife and children did not give him succor to overcome whatever was bothering him.

When I went grocery shopping this Monday, I was overcome by a desire for chocolate and wine. I did not understand why.

When I came home, I had a few glasses of wine and a few bites of chocolate. While both were good, they did not satisfy me.

Later, I realized that it was Tony Scott's death that was bothering me.

The last review I wrote was negative and it was a movie produced by Scott Free, Ridley and Tony Scott's production company.

I will forever regret that review and will never write another negative review. Some people do take negative reviews and criticisms to heart. Some have killed themselves because of them.

While I doubt Tony Scott ever read my review, I still feel bad.

Our birth into this world is often joyful, our death is not.