So if you really want to watch a lighthearted romantic comedy, don’t watch this.

The Freebie is about a young husband and wife that have lost the spark in the sack. One night they decide that it would be a good idea to experiment with sleeping with other people for one night. Now, I recently heard a This American Life episode about the crazy things people do for love and the whole “let’s try sleeping with other people” experiment was one of the examples. And as you might expect, it didn’t work out in the end, the couple was worse off for it. I feel like if you’re in a position where that experiment actually becomes an option with your spouse, you’re probably not doing so good and one or both of you is looking for a way out. Something to break up over. It’s really sad actually and I am thankful that Kim and I both firmly stand against this idea.

But I’m not opposed to watching a film about a couple trying it out. I was really curious how Katie Aselton was going to pull it off in her film. Honestly, she did wonderfully. I went into it with mixed expectations. The poster/branding made me feel bleh, but if she has the same sort of taste in movie making as her husband Mark Duplass, then I was hoping for a gem. And fortunately, we get a diamond. (Cheesy, I know, but it’s true).

The movie has all the cinema verite goodness you’d come to expect from a Duplass film (Mark Duplass produced it by the way). It feels so natural. The acting is superb and the way she handles “the idea”, “the execution”, and “the aftermath” is so tastefully done I’m just blown away. She didn’t let it turn into a stupid romcom and she was aware enough to address the fact that this was a terrible idea. I’m glad she didn’t somehow find a way to make light of the situation because that’s what mainstream films typically want to do. The truth is we don’t really find out if it “works” because relationships and marriages can’t solve their problems in 90 minutes of cinema. You get the impression that the aftermath and the issue still exists for this couple after the end of the film and that’s how it really is. I appreciate that.

I’m so happy with The Freebie. I can’t wait to watch it again, this time with Kim. I think she’ll “enjoy” it like I did. It definitely affected me.

There were quite a lot of cute parts with baby monkeys doing baby monkey things. But then when baby monkeys grow up, they start doing things that make you realize they’re a wild animal. They’ll lash out and bite you or wreck your home. That’s kind of what happened and little Nim Chimpsky got moved from home to home with different teachers who all claimed they could do it better. What resulted was a confused chimp who was really being unfairly raised outside of his natural environment. He couldn’t really “be” a monkey like he should be.

Whether you’re an animal rights activist or not, you’ll see how incompetent some of these people really were. And the professor who started the project seemed to be more interested in his own esteem and getting with all his female teachers! Kind of whack if you ask me.

But then a guy named Bob Ingersoll came in who actually seemed to respect the fact that Nim was a monkey and treated him as such. Eventually though he got taken back to the laboratory and locked in a cage with other chimps. He was scared and didn’t know how to act around them. That part of the movie got really sad.

I don’t need to go into more detail, but it was definitely a fascinating movie. Directed by James Marsh who did Man on Wire and I’ve heard referred to as the “British Errol Morris” due to his more cinematic documentary style. Project Nim was awesome.

Cold Weather, production wise, is more polished but the acting and story is still very down to earth and real. Basically what takes place is a ho-hum twentysomething flick like just about every other “new talkie” – but things take an awesome turn when they discover a key character is missing. So what unfolds is a thrilling hunt to find clues and uncover secrets about the characters.

I’ve been watching a TON of true crime shows with my wife like Disappeared, Nightmare Next Door, (anything on Information Discovery Channel) and I recently went to a focus group for a real murder case happening in Ohio. So my crime solving antennaes were way up already and this movie took my love for cinema verite and combined it with a missing person’s story. I was hooked!

The ending might leave people confused and wanting more. But if you look at the film as a slice of life or more than just a mystery thriller but as a character study about a brother, a sister, and a friend, it’s pretty remarkable.

I like what Kim Nicolini says about Bellflower:

What makes Bellflower so fresh is the creative ingenuity and the emotional passion of its filmmaker Evan Glodell. Glodell takes D.I.Y filmmaking to the Nth degree. Not only did he write and direct the movie, but he poured his entire emotional presence into the film through the physicality of the filmmaking process.

Seriously though, I want to see more from Evan. The fact that he built his own cameras and was so emotionally invested in the film, it’s truly an art project and reflection of the director.

And people spend their entire life trying to learn how to draw. And then, after years and years of effort, they discover that they can successfully replicate what’s in front of them. It’s a kind of drawing that appears in all the art classes and all the studios as people learn how to do it in the world. And then finally you learn that you can represent what is in front of you accurately [and] at the same time you learn that it’s not the point, that that is only the beginning of the real point, which is how to engage what is real.

Read the full interview here.

I often find myself referencing this quote when people ask me how important is it to be able to draw. I feel like it’s definitely not required to have a career in design or branding. People often ask me why I choose to trace over a photo in my illustration instead of draw it freehand. Honestly, I used to care a lot more about being able to draw freehand. I used to hate it when people “traced” something, like it was some sort of cheat code. But as I dive deeper into branding and graphic design, I realized some of the work that moved me the most wasn’t drawn freehand. It was iconic, it was photorealistic, it was stylized. It was also not the focus. If it wasn’t about the idea it was trying to communicate, it was about the style. The brand. Nobody seemed to care that I was able to draw something out of my imagination anymore. That’s what Moms are for, right?

My pride for drawing reached its peak right around the time the “5 year old kid” drawing style became a trend. Remember Napoleon Dynamite? Millions of products were sold with nothing more than a doodle on them. It didn’t take an immense drawing ability to make something people liked. Video game designers and comic book artists are some of the most talented drawers I know. I’m continually impressed with their ability, but that’s not what I’m interested in anymore. I’m more interested in communicating ideas, making cool things people like and can use, business and leadership, psychology and consumer behavior, etc. Those things get me riled up more than being able to draw a unicorn perfectly out of my imagination.

So I relate to Milton Glaser’s quote about once you realize you can draw an apple and have it look exactly like an apple, you’re really proud of it. Yeah! But then you’re like, ok now what? There’s got to be something more to it than this, right?

I like to say that art/design is like learning a language, it’s not how fluent you speak, it’s about what you have to say.

However, I must say that being able to draw is a skill that I would encourage all creative people to develop. As a graphic designer, we can get to detached from our imagination and our hands. Drawing can bring us back to that blissful creative world we used to live in when there was nothing to be sold, nothing to be said, and nothing to brand. A pretty picture was a pretty picture. I should take my own advice and draw freehand more often, but I’m just too excited about other things right now. It doesn’t bother me one bit, but I might revisit it when it feels natural.

I won’t go into detail on exactly what he wrote, but the point is, I looked up to the guy. I followed him and his music from band to band. He was influential in me deciding to start my own band and write music. So it hurt pretty bad when I felt like I was wrongly judged from someone I admired. So I wrote them back trying to set the record straight, but they didn’t seem to give a shit one bit. Didn’t even apologize. Afterward I seriously wanted to quit. Things like this give the punk scene a bad name.

Lyrics

An artist I used to work with said “I’ve got some advice for you. You’re heroes don’t respect you. They could care less about you.” That’s not some advice I said it’s just a load of crap instead. I’ll show you that’s not true. I’m gonna work hard and prove to you that not everyone in this world is an asshole. Not everyone in this world is a jerk. There are people out there that really do care. You just have to know where to look.

This punk rock kid I looked up to played in a band I listened to. He was an inspiration; led to my bands formation. I sent my art to him, I thought here’s my chance to get involved. He shoved it back in my face.
Said my work was a disgrace. So that guy from my favorite band was an asshole. He had no idea how much his words could hurt. I said I loved his band but he didn’t seem to care that he took my heart and threw it in the dirt.

Then there’s this guy from this awesome record label. I asked to play a song from my band’s shitty demo
He said, “No way, I don’t care about your band, why don’t you folks understand that it’s all about they money? I don’t wanna be your friend, but you can be my fan! I’ll take your donation, and act like I’m thankful, but in the end, we won’t remember you.

I’m putting my faith in honesty. I’m gonna try my best and the world will see I’m hopeful, I’m young, and I’m strong. I’m putting my faith in humanity not to treat their friends like commodities cause that’s bullshit, fucked up, and fucking wrong.

I still go to shows, to see my favorite bands. I try to meet them afterwards, and I always shake their hands. I tell them they did great, with my honest appreciation. I want to open up and have a candid conversation. But they’re not looking for that. No, they want to move on fast to the kid with the patches on his hat. He’s gonna buy their merch and their CD, when all I want is honesty. But that never seems to come for free. Oh, why does this shit bother me!?

The temptation has come and gone not to give up on the scene. Whatever happened to positivity and building community? As I jadedly sing this song, there’s this kid in the front row pounding his fist against his heart, it makes me believe that this it what it’s all about! The songs that make us sing and shout! The real heroes here are all around me! Yeah, my heroes here are all around me! My real heroes here, please don’t give up on me!