Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Zane Post 8-26-09

Welcome to the very first of very many Brennan and Zane video productions. This video is quite special... to the both of us due to the fact that it is the very first video we have produced in college. The Director: Mathew Brennan Utley, The Videographer: Brett Rice, and The Featuerd Actor: Zane Davis Goggans. This is a film on a young freshmans' not so accurate guess at what college was going to be like for him and what it is in real life. Now, at the end of the film I do make the comment, "... college just sucks." This however was just an instance of over playing words for the sake of the film to capture the characters full emotion.... I dont really think college sucks... in fact, I LOVE college man!

Keep Abilene Boring, yall. Enjoy the film... which is like a minute and a half...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Monday, August 24, 2009

Brennan Post 8/24/09


Funny People Review

So...I know this is a ridiculous statement...I'm very aware of this fact, but that doesn't mean the statement isn't absolutely true. I have to say, Funny People has been my favorite movie of the year so far. Hands down. I have no idea why and it makes NO sense, but it was good enough for me to see it THREE times in theaters. I never do that EVER. It makes no sense to me, so I'm goanna write about it! ALRIGHT! Funny people is the story of George Simmons (Adam Sandler) and Ira Weiner (Seth Rogen), two comedians on opposite ends of the spectrum. George Simmons is a widely successful, and terribly bored, selfish loner that spends most of his time brooding about the disease that is beginning to take his life. Ira, however, is a very unsuccessful yet ambitious comedian who rarely gets laugh and works at a food mart. George discovers Ira after one of his terribly tragic stand up performances, and decides to let him write jokes for him and be his "assistant." Ira jumps at the offer, snatching the opportunity of celebrity and well, cash, but soon finds that George's life is a selfish cluttered mess of fear and self loathing and well...George is dying. Funny People doesn't really sound like funny people, does it? Yet I still laughed at it. Hard. And I was also touched. I see mirrored reflections of myself in both characters. Ira's hopeful spirit, struggling to push George up into a life outside of selfishness and boredom, and also George's self loathing depression that is spiraling out of control, and bringing everyone else down with him. Then (this isn't that big of a spoiler) George isn't dying...and he's forced to ask himself, what now? Where does this life go from here? I'm pretty sure that characters never asked questions like that in Step Brothers or Semi Pro. Funny People is definitely on a higher caliber than both of these films, but still manages to remain a fun and entertaining comedy. The film is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, and will be WAY too long for some people, but I was absolutely engrossed the entire time and wouldn't want the film to be any other way. If it was shorter there would be either less comedy or less character development and heart, and if either of those elements were taken out, the entire film would be ruined. I still have no idea why Funny People was particularly moving to me, because to be honest, 500 Days of Summer was a much better film, but Funny People hits me on a much deeper level. All I can say is that I fully understand the realm that Judd Apatow was attempting to pull me into. I truly cared about the characters that moved throughout the film, broken and bleeding, and yet I also laughed at all the jokes about balls. How strange? I haven't seen The 40 Year Old Virgin, but I have had a chance to see Knocked Up, and it is my opinions that Funny People is 60 times better than Knocked Up. The fact is that Funny People goes so many more places that Knocked Up didn't even attempt to explore, and well, it was a lot funnier too. I can't wait to see Funny People again. Not for the balls jokes, or all the stand up, but for the scenes of warmth and humanity that the film is absolutely riddled with. George and Ira's relationship is not perfect, but it truly is a really beautiful, human example of friendship. Ira's relationship with Daisy (another comedian) is another akward, but human portrayal of romantic interaction between too...funny people. Towards the end of the film Adam Sandler chillingly rips at Ira saying..."Bad career choice...comedy is meant for funny people..." And it is, but it's also here to reminds us about the cracks and damages in all of us, and the fragile balance that keeps us together and I can't held but watch Funny People and be reminded about that, no matter how many times they talk about sex. I intensely suggest Funny People, but like anything, make sure to keep an open mind about it and look for the art in it. I did, and was blessed by the films beauty and humor. Go see it...NOW!

Other movies you should see or at least look out for... (I've only seen a few of them)

500 Days of Summer
District 9 (Maybe)
Inglorious Basterds
Paper Heart
Shutter Island
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE!!
Taking Woodstock
The Hurt Locker
The Informant
Fantastic Mr. Fox!



Saturday, August 22, 2009

Brennan Post 8/22/09

I just saw that zane had posted something about college and I remembered that a couple nights ago I had written some pros about the same subject! So here it goes...

Thoughts About College and This “New Life.”

I entered the gates of Abilene Christian University this week and I’ve carried the weight of the decision through the hallways like a ghost. As the activities pour over me, I glide through the hallways and lecture rooms like a spirit, in awe of the future moments rolling upon me. It’s not that the college is mind blowing or anything, it’s the fact that my bones are growing into adulthood, and the steps I’m taking are moving and moving fast. The uncertainty of it all gets the best of me sometimes. I’ve been alone in the corner of my mind, staring around at the images around me, confused by their complexity and rhythm, and the hopelessness of it all begins to trickle down like boiling lava. The social environment is so frightening and reminds me how spoiled and sheltered I’ve been for the past four years. New faces. New people. New friends. New life. Supposedly. And I’m tapping my fingers on a desk, listening to light music, letting the thoughts flow, and wondering if it will all escape me, and I’ll end up loosing the missing piece to the puzzle of the perfect college experience. Whatever that means. Classes haven’t even started yet. but I sit here, breathing deeply with ignorant depression that will soon be appeased with time and friendship, and I know how stupid my insides have become, but I don’t know any other way to be. This all sounds oh, so sad, but you have to understand, I consume sadness. The inspiration of it all wakes up the psychedelic heart strings in my quivering fingers. Happiness does this too, just as intensely, but I’ve had lots of happiness lately, and really to be honest, I’m tired of it. Same old same old turns cold, no mater how much it burnt your hands at one time. So this terrifying new life that towers over me, casting it’s ominous shadow over my trembling frame, is just as bad and just as good as it seems, and all I can do is wait, wait, and I love it. New faces. New people. New friends. New life. Whatever that means.

Brennan Utley

Zane Post 8-22-09: Ok... So, college.....

Zane: As you all can very well see, Brennan and I just so happen to go college in the most exciting town in all of ever. This town is extremely sought after when it come to settling down to raise a family... and no wonder! The views are amazing... you can literally look out the window of your car and see absolutely nothing for hundreds of miles... or maybe a wind turbine, who knows.

You see, many people would come to Abilene and be bored out of their faces... but i just dont see it that way, you know. I see it as an awesome opportunity to just "get away from... well... literally everything."

To be honest, I have been entirely sarcastic this entire time. Hard to tell huh? You see, Abilene, Texas is so boring that it would drive a college student to the point to where he thinks he has to start a blog just to keep in touch with reality. And whats relitvely funny about the whole ordeal, is that residents of Abilene seem to take pride in bordom! Just yesterday, at chappel, I saw the back of this guys shirt... who i expected to be an upperclassmen... and it read "Keep Abilene Boring". I thought this was a very clever spin-off of the phrase, "Keep Austin Weird" and i must say i was kind of inspired by the t-shirt... so much that whenever I see one, I believe I will buy that bad boy! Indeed I will buy it. I will buy that shirt!

Do you get the idea here? Already I have become so absorbed in the Abilene culture of bordom that I am willing to buy a t-shirt that exclaims my absolute happieness about bordom... what? Now that I think about it... I did think it was really fun to drive the 30 or so miles just to see the wind turbines... twice... in one day...

Friday, August 21, 2009

Zane Post 8-21-09


Zane: I took this amazingliy awesome and mind blowing picture at sunset here in Abilene dude. Even if you dont like it, it looks way better on my iPhone.... TRUST me.

Brennan Post 8/21/09

Hi. I'm Brennan Utley.

This is an amazing video that I took on my i phone


The beauty of it gets me everytime.

I hope you enjoy it too.

Read Me

The new age has come.

The Age of the BZ blog.

Theologians and scholars predicted a future event like this would occur.

And now it has.

And now everything will change.

All you've known will be destroyed.

Replaced with a new life.

A Brennan and Zane life.

Are you ready?

We don't care.

Welcome.