"You're so organic!" Ugh.

So according to this morning's phone call, I got the apartment in South Orange. I'd successfully avoided living in New Jersey for five years, but now I'm being dragged back. It's like I violated my parole.

Instead of seeing a guy in Brooklyn about a used Saab, I went to see Into the Wild. The book is one of my favorite books. The movie is not one of my favorite movies. I told some people I wouldn't say anything about the movie until they've had a chance to see it, but considering its NY presence is limited to two theatres, I don't know how long it will take for it to hit other cities and this movie is too unique for me to keep silent. As a half-assed conciliatory gesture, I'll limit my criticism to two elements that maybe won't bother you as much as they did me:

1. Way too many fonts. At least four within the first few minutes, including one that morphs into another. This was one thing that made the movie feel unfocused. (There were others, but this was one.)
   
2. Way too many voiceovers. A lot of the time I just tuned out and enjoyed the visuals, which were generally terrific. Some of the voiceovers (oh, there are a few speakers) used language that no one ever uses. One speaker used the word "balk." Have you ever said "balk"? Maybe you've written it, but have you used it in speech? No, you haven't. Why not? Because it's a silly word. It's a word used when you want to be needlessly poetic, which describes 90% of the voiceovers in this movie.

Things I did like in the movie

1. The music, sometimes.
2. The cinematography, mostly.
3. The end credits' citation of all the quotes used in the movie, entirely.
   
4. Hal Holbrook, unabashedly.

Go see it and we'll discuss.