Nothing is more suspicious than Frog's Breathe

I did go see Apocalypse Now: Redux-- or at least, most of it. I had to leave before the end to catch the last metro (it was much longer than I thought), and I saw up to the dinner scene with the French plantation owner. I liked this movie (or what I saw of it), and I really want to see the rest of it! I'll try to rent it v.o. when I get a chance. Hmmpf!
I was amazed at how much Martin Sheen looked like Emilio Estevez (I can't imagine why). "Emilio! Emilio!" Quickly...20 pts. to the first person to name the film that comes from.
Last night I went to the Louvre. I spent several hours walking through the galleries (that were actually open) in the Sully Wing, and perused the Italian Artists' gallery in the Denon Wing. That includes-- of course--the Mona Lisa. I really couldn't care less about seeing her. Her face is so widely known and the real one had no affect on me...but you can't not see her when visiting the Louvre.
The Louvre is a great place, but I don't enjoy it because of the famous works of art that adorn its walls. Just the opposite; I like experiencing for the first time, something I am not at all familiar with; I enjoy the works I've not ever see before. It was also a royal palace for many centuries and the architecture and detail throughout the building is stunning. But more than anything else, my favorite thing to do at the Louvre is play 'Celebrity Look-Alike.' There are millions of faces on display on canvas, carved in stone, and some of them even look like people in People. Yesterday, I saw Edward Norton, Roseanne (formerly Bar, then Arnold), Ben Franklin (okay, that doesn't really count as it was Ben Franklin), Vladimir Putin, and Jerry Hall.
As I left, the building was lit up and its sandstone bricks were glowing gold. I took about 100 pictures, but few actually turned out--photo at left is not one of them :(. It was such a fresh, crisp night; I took a walk through the Tuilleries Gardens before riding the train home.
Today, I spent about 3 hours creating a schedule for the next 3 days. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the 3 Jours, 3 Euros film festival. Every theatre in Paris, EVERY film playing in Paris is 3 Euros. Now, there are over 300 theatres in this grand city, and I wanted to make sure to get the most out of this festival (thank you patron saint of free monuments/museums/movies :). I had worked out a schedule of 6 films/day for the next 3 days, but I am not as young as I used to be, and alas, that is just too much. So, I narrowed it down to 4 films/day and am rather pleased with the way it turned out. Not only did I take into account the start time and length of each show, but the theatre's location as well. For instance, tomorrow, all of the films I'll being seeing are in the Latin Quarter. I'm watching Annie Hall at 2 p.m., The Island at 4:15 p.m., Melinda Melinda* at 6:45 (cutting it a bit close), and Bill Plimpton's Hair High at 10 p.m. There were so many movies to choose from and I know I am missing several (festivals for Truffaut, Hitchcock, Ozu, Godard, Hepburn/Tracy, Jim Jarmusch, Burton, David Lynch, Fritz Lang, Fassbinder, and Luis Bunuel are all going on right now!). Tant Pis.
However, I found myself unable to wait until tomorrow for a flick fix and went to the Tim Burton film festival tonight. I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas or l'Etrange Noël de Mr. Jack. I love this movie and while watching it, I realized that I have the entire thing memorized! I've seen it several times-- to be sure, but I never knew I had a problem until tonight. I've joined an online support group for Tim Burton groupies, his stalkers, and Goths who like to knit (not a real diverse group). My favorite line from this movie is...20 more points for anybody who gets it right!





*There is a Woody Allen festival going on right now-- but, I think that by law, there must be a Woody Allen festival going on at all times in Paris, and the shows just rotate from theatre to theatre.