For Vulcan Video

I filled out an e-mail job application pre-screening today to work in an independent video store. I doubt I'll get the job and doubt less I even want it (it's far away and I think I'm leaving Austin soon), but I worked so hard on and was so enamored with my answers I thought it was a waste for them to only be seen by the management of a video store. So, behold! I share.

1. What is your favorite film genre/movement/country? I'm really attracted to the group of up and coming young directors from Central and South America, including Walter Salles, Fernando Mereilles, Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Inarritu. The first two are Brazilian and the latter three Mexican, but I believe they're kicking down the barriers holding back foreign language films in America have united them and made that particular region a hotbed of creativity. I don't always like the films they make (I wasn't fond of The Motorcycle Diaries or Blindness or Babel) but they are always fascinating to watch. And some of the best films this decade have come from these directors (Children of Men, 21 Grams, City of God, The Constant Gardener), and some of the most popular (Harry Potter 3, Pan's Labyrinth).  

2. What was the last movie you saw and what did you think of it? The last movie I saw was 'The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser' and it's a favorite of mine. I think it is probably Werner Herzog's best film, and I think this particular Bruno S. performance is one of the best in movie history.  

3. Name 1 movie or director that you hate and explain why. I hate Paul Haggis because he thinks I'm an idiot. And he thinks you're an idiot, too. And he's tarnished Clint Eastwood. Paul Haggis has all the subtlety of a bullet to the face and thinks that you won't 'get' his movies unless he takes his message and jams it down you throat. Consider 'In the Valley of Elah' and 'Flags of Our Fathers' where people are constantly, constantly, CONSTANTLY berating Charlize Theron and Adam Beach for being a woman and a Native American, respectively. And look at the redneck family in 'Million Dollar Baby', who were so mustache-twirling evil they belonged in a 'Dudley Do-Right cartoon. Paul Haggis believes in real-world villains, which is nonsense. Despite what 'Crash' tried to teach us with it's ridiculous 'racism is easy to spot and very, very bad' tutorial, 'black and white' shouldn't be tolerated-- in what purports to be a realistic, serious film . Everything is a grey area. And his issue movies don't seem to know that. Instead, they just 'screech' to the choir in loud, obnoxious, unpleasant ways.  

4. What has been your favorite movie this year? 'Synecdoche, New York'  

5. Why do you want to work at Vulcan Video? I'm a big movie fan, it's not a soul-sucking corporate entity, and I think I'd be pretty damn good at it.  

6. Create a triple feature based on one of the following themes: Let's do Jack Black buddy comedies. Him and Mos Def in 'Be Kind Rewind' and two supporting roles, him chumming up to John Cusack in 'High Fidelity' and Billy Crudup in 'Jesus' Son'. The latter two may not count as strictly 'buddy comedies', but the scenes involving Black in both movies stick pretty strictly to the buddy comedy genre requirements: an odd couple either comically bickering in an everyday setting and an odd couple comically bickering on a wacky adventure.