First off, many thanks go to Amanda for pointing me to the website/blog Austinist, a website/blog that covers the local Austin scene. I came across an article today that once again demonstrated why I like Austin.

This link pretty much says it all, but here are the highlights:

Beginning April 24th, Quentin and crew will be in town at the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown for “QT 7 - The Best Of”. Screenings will be held nightly through 4/30 except for 4/25, when the event moves to The Glenn for an outdoor evening of wackiness and gore. If you’re never been to these festivals before, Tarantino brings prints of obscure B-movies and programs each night around a theme: kung fu, good old boys, overlooked westerns, and crime in the city are some nights from older fests. The titles are never revealed until right before the screening, so one never knows what B-movie extravaganza awaits. Tarantino personally introduces each of the films, and usually sits with the crowd drinking beer and laughing along with his selections.

**My soul aches.** Last night I saw the movie [Monster](http://www.monsterfilm.com/) with Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci and it was truly powerful and moving. For those who don’t know, Monster is the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute from Florida who was convicted of killing her “customers” in cold blood. The movie is disturbing in many ways. First and foremost it is provoking because it is based on a true story. She was abused as a child and had no one to turn to. This sort of thing happens much more frequently than anyone wants to believe. I have friends that have worked at crisis lines as well as have heard stories from healthcare professionals. Story after story of extremely disturbed women who were molested as children and it has deeply scarred them into adulthood. Sometimes I just don’t know what to think. I don’t understand what is wrong with people, why anyone would have the capacity to harm a child that way.

There is some confusion about how accurate the story is, but even if it does take some artistic liberties, in my mind that does not dilute the movie. For instance, according to [this](http://abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/GiveMeABreak/GMAB_monster_040213-3.html) site, Aileen testified that the rape scene never happened. One of the producers rebuts that she attempted to make everything appear to be murder in cold blood to end her life. In fact, according to [this](http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/monster.php) site, she was trying to speed her own execution along by writing letters to Florida state’s Supreme Court Justices requesting that they cancel pending appeals. She wrote:
*

“I’m one who seriously hates human life and would kill again. So what’s the point! Let’s move on. I am asking here then for the Florida Supreme Court to step in and ‘Do Something.”

*

Of course, I have no idea what really happened. I only know that the movie did an excellent job of evoking strong emotion that rocked me to the core. They did not portray her as a “good” person, but they also did not portray her as a “bad” person. She was simply a product of circumstance, and that is what might be the most upsetting part for me.

Tonight I went to see [Super Size Me](http://www.supersizeme.com/), and I am truly disturbed. Morgan Spurlock, the director and star of the film sets out to eat only McDonalds for one month to see what the effects are. Now there were three basic rules that governed his diet for the 30 days.

1. He could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2. No supersizing unless offered
3. He had to eat every item on the menu at least once

I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone, so I won’t elaborate too much on the details, but I can tell you that at about the half way mark I found myself squirming and saying “I can’t handle this” over and over to myself. I totally mortified by the end of the movie, however simultaneously fascinated. While on this journey, not only did the victim’s triglicerides, fat, cholestoral, etc skyrocket, but he also started developing addiction to the food. He complained of headache’s and crankiness that would only be satiated if he started stuffing his face with more food. As if that wasn’t enough of a reason to be appauled, his girlfriend complained that his sex drive was severely affected (as in driven down to near zero) by the McDonalds food.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, but be prepared to be both totally disgusted and appalled. I know at least two people walked out of the movie because they just couldn’t handle it.