9 posts from April 2008

Show us your favorite pair of shoes.

 

Nothing great about these, but they're high heels and they're black. 'Nuff sed.

 

 

 

Purplesque reminded me about Ratatouille yesterday, and I also remembered some other films that I'd meant to review but forgotten.

 

Ratatouille was nicely done - a little unbelievable of course (a Cordon Bleu who's a rodent?!) but who says fairy tales should only happen in the "days of yore"? The story premise was familiar and a little jaded, as is with most commercial animated films, but it was unusual in the fact that instead of the beaten-to-death man vs. nature battle, man and nature join hands to come up trumps. That's what I liked about Bee Movie as well.

Story-wise, Brad Bird's two earlier films - The Iron Giant and The Incredibles - were better. But Ratatouille was nevertheless nicely animated, with excellent lighting and texture. Also it was obvious that a lot of effort had gone into the research of Paris's famous gastronomic culture, especially with the addition of the death-like food critic Anton (aptly named the "Grim Eater"!) However, I wish they had animated more scenes of the food, since that was so central to the plot.

 

 

Realm of the Senses. This Japanese film, made in 1976, is inspired by a real incident in the 1930s, when China was sending its troops into Japan. It's about a married landlord who has a torrid affair with a former protitute-turned-brothel-maid. It's a very explicit film - two hours of almost non-stop full frontal male erect nudity, penetration, the works - sometimes in close-up. Some scenes are borderline repulsive. This threatens threatens to overwhelm the story in parts, but it makes sense when you find out that the film was made specifically to rebel against Japanese censors, who had no problems with depiction of violence and rape, but were prudish about sex. (Damn movie censors - they're the same everywhere.) That explains why the cast and crew is Japanese but the producers are French.

I found the movie extremely boring beyond a point, and even the unusual ending didn't surprise me because I sort of expected it. It was only later when I was mulling over it that I realised how the female protagonist's character undergoes a sea change from the beginning to the end, but I had not noticed. That was interesting, if a bit too long.

If you can see beyond the pornography (I don't even know whether to call it pornography, because it was a fictionalised narrative in spite of the unsimulated sex) there are very interesting displays of Japanese cultural motifs - specifically blood and death. Both are so deeply ingrained with Japanese culture that it is present in virtually every aspect of Japanese art, and especially so in this film, where the colour red stands out in particular. Those familiar with Miyazaki's work will know that these are present in his films too, which can be enjoyed by children as well.

There is Japanese traditional vocal and instrumental music throughout the movie (the lead actor sings really well, by the way) and there is even an unusual Kabuki-inspired dance accompanying a post-wedding orgy. Those familiar with Indian classical music will find an unmistakeable similarity in their music and ours, whether it is the ragas, notes and style of singing. Very interesting.

Overall, not really a must-watch movie, but it does have some historic and cultural value.

 

 

Woman of The Dunes. This film, also Japanese, is one of the most intriguing I've ever seen. An entomologist is looking for insect specimens near a beach, when he learns he has missed the last bus home. So the local villagers lead him to a house inside a sand dune occupied by a lone woman, and he accepts her hospitality. The woman and her home are very strange - every night, they have to shovel the falling sand so the house does not get buried. Soon the man realises he is trapped, as he cannot climb out. The woman asks him to stay with her and help look after the house. He goes mad, and is extremely angry with his hostess because she is content to just live inside the dune forever and has no desire to explore the world outside. After various attempts to escape are thwarted, he hits upon a plan. Whether it works or not I won't tell because this is a must-see film, and a taut psychological thriller as well. The feeling of endlessness and claustrophobia are beautifully captured.

 

 

Billy Elliot. I saw this movie last night. I had last seen it several years ago on cable, so some scenes and dialogue were censored, so this time I had the pleasure of seeing it raw. A heartwarming film set in County Durham, North England, it tells the story of a boy who dared to learn ballet instead of boxing while his miner father and brother are on strike. It is set in 1984 but still very reminiscent of the 60s British New Wave - films like Tony Richardson's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning - which portrayed the life of the working class.

Jamie Bell does an excellent job as Billy Elliott, and so does Julie Walters as the local ballet teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson. There's also an unapologetic exploration of sexuality - Billy's attraction to his teacher's daughter Debbie and his coming to terms with his friend Michael's homosexuality. This is a distinction in British cinema, which does not hesitate to have its child actors use swear words and enact scenes of sexual tension if the story demands it (also see December Boys, Daniel Radcliffe's first non-Harry Potter role.) Billy even dares to ask his ballet teacher if she fancies him! The scenes when Billy is saying his goodbyes before leaving for a career at the Royal Ballet school are especially wrenching.

The accents will take a little time to get used to, but they are authentic and do not distract from the film. Fun fact: Apparently, the Durham slang for gay is "poof"!

 

I'd rank this movie as a must-see, especially for Jamie Bell. That boy can swear, cry, tap-dance and pirouette like a pro. Too bad we aren't getting to see more of him on a regular basis.

 

 

 

This weekend was full of surprises.

 

While I was expecting Michael Clayton to be a thriller, it turned out to be a depiction of conscience battles. Nice. It wasn't really a new one in terms of storyline, but I was blown away by the performances. For the first time in ages I have seen a film where nearly all the leading performers did a great job.

Tm Wilkinson's monologue, the first lines in the film, were possibly the best movie lines I've heard in a while. His performance and dialogue delivery was excellent too - in fact, better than Tilda Swinton and George Clooney. He totally deserved the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Swinton was good, but that wasn't really a surprise since I've heard her reputation as a great actress. I don't know if she deserved the Oscar, as I haven't seen the performances by the other nominees.

What did surprise me was Clooney's performance. I feel that his looks often get in the way of his acting, so I enjoyed his performance in Syriana as the overweight, bearded spy. But he was surprisingly good in Michael Clayton and brought some uncharacteristic sensitivity and intensity to his role. Good stuff.

 

The other surprise was Bee Movie. I was not really keen on watching yet another Hollywood 3D animated film, but I decided to watch this one because I knew it would be light-hearted and I needed to unwind. Turns out, it wasn't so bad - it was written by Jerry Seinfeld, among others - though the animation was comparatively sloppy. The story looked like a spoof on the RIAA/MPAA and all those copyright infringement battles going on. It even had neat guest appearances by Larry King, Ray Liotta and Sting.

Best line from the movie, is when a mosquito (voiced by Chris Rock) is newly appointed as a lawyer:

"I was already a bloodsucking parasite - all I needed was a briefcase!"

MAJOR GOOFS: Only FEMALE bees make honey, and only FEMALE mosquitoes suck blood, yet both the lead bee and mosquito in the movie are males. After doing all that painstaking research on bee communication patterns, they completely sidestepped this fact!

This is why anthropomorphism sucks.

 

 

Other movies that I've seen this month but forgot to review:

 

Annie Hall. A one-time watch and reasonably good film. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Diane Keaton's clothes - feminine, smart, classy and sexy all the same time. Especially the black-waistcoat-and-tie combo with white full-sleeves formal shirt, khaki pants and black fedora. That was genius.

 

No Country for Old Men. Not that great a movie, and I couldn't understand some of the dialogues because of the heavy Southern accents, but it was beautifully shot. However, the highlight of the movie was obviously Javier Bardem.Not because he was hot - though he definitely is, come to think of it - but because his performance was INSANE. Brilliant. Frightening. After a point, I kept putting the speakers on mute whenever he entered the screen because I had actually come to be terrified of him. The relaxed way he spoke, the glazed look in his eyes, the uncertainity of whether he was going to blow off someone's head... it was too much to handle. It's not that hard to make viewers cry and laugh along with the character you're portraying, but it takes genius to be able to scare the hell out of them. He totally deserved his Oscar.

 

Juno. BAD: Cleary the most overrated movie of the year. Shockingly cavalier about something as life-altering as pregnancy - even the parents are so calm! Sure, people having been having babies for aeons, but many poor folks die at childbirth due to lack of medical care, and here we've got an irresponsible, loud-mouthed 16-year-old casually going ahead with a pregnancy since papa and mama dearest are there for her, after all. It wasn't even that she was pretending to be cool when in reality she was scared to death (That, or Ellen Page is a lousy actress.)

I'd bring the roof down if MY 16-year-old got pregnant, especially if she's been making a show of oh-look-at-me-i'm-so-cool-with-my-condescending-slang-and-slasher-movies bullshit. I'd either get her an abortion, or let her have the baby and give it up for adoption, depending on how far along she is - but not without giving her a good ass-whooping first.

(Oh, and if my 16-year-old son got someone pregnant, I'd whoop his ass too.)

Sure, it's not that big a deal if you're prepared for it, but pardon my conservative thinking, I think 16-year-olds have way better things to do than getting pregnant. Babies are fragile, helpless, and a lot hard work - and baby stuff is expensive. Jeez, when you're an adult, ALL you'd be doing is getting knocked up, whether its your boyfriend, boss or your goddamned tax inspector.

One one hand, the respectful attitude towards babies in general and the pro-adoption message is good; nevertheless, it is also an anti-abortion movie, but cleverly done. Anyone else notice that the character Su Chin, who protests alone outside the abortion clinic, is Chinese? To me that seemed a little forced and unusual. Maybe they couldn't have Americans protesting because that would put off the pro-choice folks. So they got in a Chinese girl, which would make sense since abortion in China (and India) is usually an excuse to get rid of baby girls. Atleast that's what I think.

 

GOOD: The only character in the film who was worth watching was Michael Cera. His character too was to blame for the pregnancy, but he didn't pretend like he was so cool and awesome while being scared inside. He continued to be as nerdy and clueless as ever, with an air of resigned innocence and naiveté rather than indifference.

The music was pretty nice too - I like the folksy bluegrass feel. Some of the quotes were funny too.

 

So anyway, sweet on one level but really stupid on another. Okay if you have nothing else to watch.

 

Gotta get back to work now. I've been working with the Wacom, and while it isn't as good as the old pencil-on-paper, it's way better than the mouse. Atleast my hand moves in circles instead of jerking in all directions. :P

Definitely one of the first things I need to buy in the near future - though I'd happily settle for the less expensive (1/3rd the price) but just-as-good iBall.

 

 

 

The internet is MORBIDLY ABYSMAL, and therefore this is just a quick post to say hi and my apologies that I can't read/comment on all your posts or see your pics.

 

Hope everyone's well.

Show us a key.

I'll show ya a whole bunch.

 

 

 

Just scanned it in. I'm dedicated, man.

Show us a t-shirt.
Submitted by Connie.

Now that it's clear this won't be going anywhere, except perhaps to a Swiss bank vault, I am not afraid to reveal it. It's now available only a collector's item. You can have it when you pry it from my cold, dead ... nevermind.

 

 

Designed by Teho and presented by Mariser. You guys are TEH AWSUM. =^-^=

 

Turns out our Mal isn't just dishy-looking, he's richly endowed with the funny bone as well. Here are two delightful interviews, his very first ever promoting Waitress (with Craig Ferguson) and about his role on Desperate Housewives (with Ellen DeGeneres.)

 

 

 

 

Please keep a bowl handy to collect your drool.

 

 

Show us a discontinued food or product you wish would return.
Submitted by Shawn.

 

1. Britannia's Ginger-Nut cookies. TOtally delish. Why did they stop making them?

2. Cadbury's Temptations Orange Apricot. Yummmmmmm.

3. Glo-Toys. They came out in '82, three years before I was born. I had received a Glo-Spider on my fourth birthday. Without them I have practically no living proof of my childhood in the 80s! :(

4. I want a My Little Pony as well. I used to have the violet one called Blossom - I have NO idea where she is now. They were so pretty (and I love horses.)

5. Care Bears. I never had the toy, but I used to LOVE the movie (or was it a TV show?)

 

Here is a great link to the hottest toys of the 80s.

 

EDIT: OMG PONIES!!1! They still make them!!!

 

WANT.

1 comment

 

 

EDIT EDIT:

I discovered this blog called Toybender, with a section called Custom Figure Corner. I found some of the most weird-ass customised toys I've ever seen.

 

 

Weird: My Little BatPony

(but not as weird as the My Little Stripper Demon Pony)

 

 

Weirder: Dune Lego

 

 

Weirdest: The Justice League LOCKER ROOM

[cough]

 

 

(inspired by these cartoons by J.Bone. Check out his illustrated Superhero pinups.)

 

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." -- Pamela Hansford Johnson
Show us a self-taken picture of the sunset.
Submitted by Connie.

For a change, I actually have something for a vox hunt!

 

These were taken when we went to a outer Mumbai seaside for a weekend in February.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some more.