Collateral

Last night I took myself out on one of my best dates (with myself) ever. I was supposed to take myself to a Baliwood film (which my friend said was not so great after all) or volunteer at the bicycle coalition (which, it turns out, only has volunteer night every-other Wednesday, and not last night). So, instead I first took myself to Jay's Cheesestake for a whole lot of fried food. I really wanted a hamburger with jalapeno poppers, but they wouldn't do that sort of substitution and having fries too would be way too much food. So, I got the combo platter instead and chowed down on deep-fried zucchini, mushrooms, chicken, cheese, and, yes, jalapeno poppers. Not to self: eat the ones that must be steaming hot first (cheese, poppers). That is one area where I failed.

I like Jay's because their food is really good and they use organic produce and cruelty-free meat. It's quality fast food without with guilt associated with knowing that your dollars spent at McD (or like) are actually contributing to the ruin of the planet.

After my magnificently healthy dinner, I went to Papa Toby's Revolution Cafe to draw people in the lovely low candlelight. There was a jazz band playing and people at nearly every table. It was perfect. I drew the band and the guitarist's wife for a while, and then moved to a table closer to the sidewalk (this is a wonderfully, and unusually Parisian-style cafe with tables on the sidewalk -- something that is very rarely allowed here) to draw more of the customers.

But I had competition. There was another guy (I think he was German) drawing everyone. So, the crowd around me was both used to and all excited about being our subject. He did several drawings of me (I was so surprised that he seemed to think I was pretty! ...At least his drawings described a pretty girl.) and I did a couple of him. We even sat for each other, trying not to move, until his girlfriend came to get him. I think I made him a little wider set than he actually is -- he was quite thin.

That was all just great, but it was still only like 9 PM, and I knew there was nothing on TV and I only had a few pages left to my book (The Secret Life of Bees). I decided to rent some mores (it is half-price day at Lost Weekend Video); so I rented Collateral and Indochine.

I have a mild allergy to Tom Cruise, but I think he was pretty good, in a remote psychopathic sort of way, in Collateral. The cinematography was amazing -- each shot looked like an individually composed frame. LA looked like a real city (which it is not). I also loved the use of numbers: 5 hits, 6 years experience (Vincent), 12 years experience (Mac).... It went really well with the stark and bold swaths of roadway, parking garages, directional arrows, office buildings of windows....

There is nothing gritty about this movie. Everything was clean and stark, as if it had just been washed down with window cleaner like Mac does his cab in the beginning. However, despite all that, I found the pace a bit slow for a thriller, as if they wanted the movie to come out long so that people would take it seriously as "art". Conversations were punctuated with at least as much time following the roadway, aerial views of the city, traffic -- shots that actually add nothing to the story. But more importantly, who was that guy who played the main cop? I am in love with his face.

I will watch Indochine another night. I have until Saturday.