Garden State Turns 10 (An Intro to Indie Culture)

So I realize Virgo Gumbo is turning into an anniversary site. Already this year I've written on classic albums I love and there's more coming down the pike. It's been a nice distraction from covering sports and it's also good sharing what you discover about something you like as time passes.

With that said, I'm happy to share my stories about Garden State turning 10. A film about quarterlife crisis before I even realized what that was and a film that I would've passed over if not for friends in college saying I should watch it.

One thing I enjoyed about college is being exposed to a ton of things I wouldn't have known. I came to school thinking I would hear about singer-songwriters* and indie artists. So when I entered my junior year in 2004, I was invited to watch this movie in a friend's dorm.

I saw the commercials for Garden State that summer but I didn't get around to it even though I knew Zach Braff was from "Scrubs" and Natalie Portman made it seem good. All I heard was this movie was going to change your life - you know, typical young adult hyperbole we all indulged in. I figure why not watch it.

After I did, I had a feel-good moment that I hadn't felt too often from movies. Just something hit me in a deep place of great storytelling, acting, writing and music. It was different, funny, quirky and had a soul that didn't feel forced or over-the-top.

Rest in Peace, Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert wasn't just a film critic. He was an institution. He was a teacher. He was open-minded when he viewed movies but he let you know what he thought honestly.

When I took a college course in studying television/film criticism, Ebert's name came up as the most prominent critic in the country. I learned terms like "auteur" and "mise-en-scene" and directors like Francois Truffaut - all things that I'd later see in Ebert's great reviews of film.

He passed away Thursday at 70, a day after announcing he'd take a leave of presence. To me, he defined what being a critic should be. Fair, open-minded, intelligent and able to appeal to a wide audience with clear thoughts. More than anything, he helped teach us how to watch movies and learn from the greats, as well as appreciate certain aspects we may not see.

As a kid, I knew who he was because he and Gene Siskel were always around. I remember the joke as a kid wasn't knowing which was which. Who was the skinny one again? I also remembered this great parody of them on Animaniacs that was still funny when I re-watched it today.

Quentin Tarantino and Nas: If Pulp Fiction is Illmatic, Jackie Brown is It Was Written

Last night I was watching Pulp Fiction. Somehow it always seems to come on at night and it's led to me sharing some cool thoughts before. I got into a brief conversation on Twitter about it and right away, we mentioned how Jackie Brown was criminally underrated.

15 years after its release, it's still a great movie. A great movie about my city and a reminder that Pam Grier is a treasure of beauty/sass. But it's slept on by a lot of folks because the monster came before it. How do you follow up one of the most influential movies of the last 20 years? A movie that was getting high praise the minute it got released.

My Favorite Los Angeles movies

Being an L.A. guy, I always love when a film is set here and I see locations that I recognize. It’s easy to set a movie here because it’s a perfect setting and it’s the birthplace of modern film. But it’s hard to make movies that capture L.A. perfectly or use it as a character or become iconic.

Too often, L.A. just plays the background. Movies are set there but aren’t really from there or it’s just there because. As I’m doing my part to discover what it means to be an Angeleno, here’s 10 of my favorite L.A. movies (not in any order)