True Grit ***
Very interesting Western. The story about a girl in the tough old Western Days, how she had to have brains and brawn at age 14. The girl is a tad too sweet and pretty but she did a good job playing the character. The scene where she tried to follow this boosy foul mouth tough marshall by jumping into the river with her pony to cross the river is very moving. It sets the pace for her determination. Then, all the gun shooting scenes, no big deal, an everyday event.
We come away seeing, TRUE GRIT is not about men in the West, not only about the thieves, nor the business traders, or the grandmas who charges 5 cents for a flour bag, the Chinese grocery man renting out a rope bed in the back of his shop, full of sausages and cured ducks (v nice touch, I like it!) Chinese guy didnt speak bad English and played the fool with an ugly face - rather he showed a food refinement side of life in the dusty days; and smoking this long pipe in the rope bed - when the marshall is away, a very nice scene. Everybody in that era had to have true grit. Life entirely is about survival for everybody.
Its a new kind of Western, not only about hero and bad guys - but where the story is really told from multiple points of view, everybody had their side of story told.
The girl character in the end is a lady - lost her arm in the snake pit - but tough, and later still older still, all wrinkled - she is shown as a "cranky weird gal" who buried at her expenses a "stranger". Story is very well told. There is no marriage w fine gentlemen with genteel living for this smart gal. She might live a comfortable life but she is also one tough cookie true to the end. True Grit to the end.
LES FEMMES DU SIXIEME ETAGE**
Romantic comedy. A bourgeois man and woman live together in a chic apartment with two blond hair kids - the two kids are sent to boarding school to be out of the way of the social life of the couple. The man discovers what 6th floor Spanish servants are really like - they are very warm and human whereas his wife, cold and dry and neurotic. A youngish Spanish woman became the dream woman of his secret life - he moves upstairs after his wife imagines an affair that he has w a client. (Very thin premise for the story) The film is built on glories of the 60s, an affluent france hiring Spanish women instead of local French women for servants because, French women servants are much more demanding and they could pay the Spanish equivalent less. This background is interesting but the real life of bourgeois women doesnt stop at that. However, the film must go on, so more chit chat, Blah Blah.
The Spanish servants dances while they do the dishes, ironing - singing "Itsy Bitsy Bikini" - give me a break! - anyway. So the man got chased out of the apt by a suspecting, jealous wife, lives upstairs on the 6th floor. Rah rah rah.
Man and woman divorced. The woman finds a new lover in the form of an artist (not shown in film) while the man runs to Spain to find his loved one - who went back home to the village because she already had a son from illicit liaison w a rich man pre-working in Paris. (Wouldnt she be suspicious of rich man? Where is this part of the story?)
Happy ending, he found her hanging up the wash, w a beautiful wide smile, and eyes meeting eyes - sunny days forever.
End of story.
I think this is a movie which appeals to a lot of people in the style of "the way we were". The movie shows some customary protocols of how a patron speaks to the servant, etc etc. That the servant is loyal to old masters - to the point of firing herself in old age without any pension or where to go. A french servant consoled by Spanish servants! etc etc. This movie is entertainment catering to nostalgic memories of old French good society ways of life.
:)
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Cannes Film Festival film : review 2006
Cannes Film Festival Film review: 2006
Sample of film review in Chinese, published: City Magazine of Hong Kong
Sample of film review in Chinese, published: City Magazine of Hong Kong
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
SOUND OF NOISE **
SOUND OF NOISE [2010/Suède-France/1h42/VO ST BIL] **half
Interesting movie with neurotic details. Scenario is very clean. It is not at all a serious story to be taken at first degree. A lof the musical experiments on sick people, on concert goers, drummers who breaks drums, hates Haydn, rather conservative overall presentations, sweating artists, with musicians looking like terrorists, exaggeration; music making using sounds from shredding swiss bills during a bank hold up executed by musicians! All unlikely combinations and situations; music making is lively, free and gd animation on unconventional scores altogether the film has a strangely esthetic control, a rigourous quality. But still, we are a little baffled by all this "happenings" - surely there is a heavy political agenda behind for people who know the context. Interesting.
Interesting movie with neurotic details. Scenario is very clean. It is not at all a serious story to be taken at first degree. A lof the musical experiments on sick people, on concert goers, drummers who breaks drums, hates Haydn, rather conservative overall presentations, sweating artists, with musicians looking like terrorists, exaggeration; music making using sounds from shredding swiss bills during a bank hold up executed by musicians! All unlikely combinations and situations; music making is lively, free and gd animation on unconventional scores altogether the film has a strangely esthetic control, a rigourous quality. But still, we are a little baffled by all this "happenings" - surely there is a heavy political agenda behind for people who know the context. Interesting.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Une vie de chat ***half
Une vie de chat 2D animation: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol 2010. DVD coming soon.
Very beautiful, perfectionnist fairytale graphics, 2D animation. Caran-d'ache Chalk crayons on paper made into moving image animation.
Very rich colors, very good drawings, sound, music, dialogue all high quality.
Story line is conventional, mainly that of a kind hearted robber, police woman, a mute little girl, gangster, gangster nanny, running around at night jumping from beautiful roof top to roof top in Parisian sky line w all the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame - everything very pretty.
The style of the drawing is very clean and french - all the details are only possible from a french team; or a team that knows intimately the city and habits of small folks.
If you compare this to something like 101 Dalmatian by Walt Disney Studio, you will see that the details are very different due to cultural backgrounds and settings.
But the charm, warmth and comforting feelings from the wrongs will be righted in the end is very satisfying for all. The robber and police woman has a hint of romance in the end - as usual because they would make perfect mom and dad together.
Very beautiful, perfectionnist fairytale graphics, 2D animation. Caran-d'ache Chalk crayons on paper made into moving image animation.
Very rich colors, very good drawings, sound, music, dialogue all high quality.
Story line is conventional, mainly that of a kind hearted robber, police woman, a mute little girl, gangster, gangster nanny, running around at night jumping from beautiful roof top to roof top in Parisian sky line w all the Eiffel tower and Notre Dame - everything very pretty.
The style of the drawing is very clean and french - all the details are only possible from a french team; or a team that knows intimately the city and habits of small folks.
If you compare this to something like 101 Dalmatian by Walt Disney Studio, you will see that the details are very different due to cultural backgrounds and settings.
But the charm, warmth and comforting feelings from the wrongs will be righted in the end is very satisfying for all. The robber and police woman has a hint of romance in the end - as usual because they would make perfect mom and dad together.
Saturday, 19 February 2011
sex friend **
"sex friend" starring Natali Portman ** a Valentine special
It is a seemingly entertainment comedy type of movie but as the film goes along, it turns out to have some little threads of reality.
I also find the way people speak in the movie is uncommon to my ears - I think if real people really talk like this, then its truly a new generation for me.
People talk about sex in a very matter of fact, open way, no more demure girls, just action and more action. But the underlying theme is still romance and true love, true engagement.
Natali Portman went from the Jean Reno assassin side kick role when she was 13 to today about to become a mother. We see her actually grow up on screen.
She was in many nudity roles, stripper scenes, but all played with a princess like quality, never cheap and vulgar. In this movie, she does look a little tired.
However, she is still very yummy and watchable and moves the scenes along - not really important whether its convincing or not - people just like to watch her!
The serious part of the movie or maybe the part i like is the true love in the end. The tall, handsome, loyal with a heart of gold guy gets the super intelligent with a fear of sentiment gal finally gets together beyond the sex into a real flowering of emotional maturity. They live happily ever after working out details such as "I like to pee w the door open all the time, ok?" etc.
In watching this, I must thank movies, because I get to see some poeple acting out their daily lives - maybe untrue but plausible scenes. Then I think, why cant real life be so clean and tidy and one whiff, everything is well again? Life could be so light and lively, why make it heavy for yourself?
Its how you deal with what comes to you thats important.
It is a seemingly entertainment comedy type of movie but as the film goes along, it turns out to have some little threads of reality.
I also find the way people speak in the movie is uncommon to my ears - I think if real people really talk like this, then its truly a new generation for me.
People talk about sex in a very matter of fact, open way, no more demure girls, just action and more action. But the underlying theme is still romance and true love, true engagement.
Natali Portman went from the Jean Reno assassin side kick role when she was 13 to today about to become a mother. We see her actually grow up on screen.
She was in many nudity roles, stripper scenes, but all played with a princess like quality, never cheap and vulgar. In this movie, she does look a little tired.
However, she is still very yummy and watchable and moves the scenes along - not really important whether its convincing or not - people just like to watch her!
The serious part of the movie or maybe the part i like is the true love in the end. The tall, handsome, loyal with a heart of gold guy gets the super intelligent with a fear of sentiment gal finally gets together beyond the sex into a real flowering of emotional maturity. They live happily ever after working out details such as "I like to pee w the door open all the time, ok?" etc.
In watching this, I must thank movies, because I get to see some poeple acting out their daily lives - maybe untrue but plausible scenes. Then I think, why cant real life be so clean and tidy and one whiff, everything is well again? Life could be so light and lively, why make it heavy for yourself?
Its how you deal with what comes to you thats important.
Friday, 18 February 2011
MicroTotalArt and TotalArt: L'usine de films amateurs of Michel Gondry***, Loco2 Kebab Cavale***
L'usine de films amateurs of Michel Gondry***
Swann went to the Centre Pompidou to see how to make a film in 3hrs. And yes, its possible, a 5mn film with 20 people team. 8 of them friends, and the rest joined freely.
The team: actor, director, camera man, sound person all roles mixed and shared
The group of friends was called by a charming enthusiastic young lady just the day before. These are people in their 17s. Lots of energy and very nice kids. The other members were: one mother who brought her adolescent son, one mother who brought her 8 year old girl, one adult man, and one un-registered participant who came to see whats going on and one adult participant-journalist. Altogether 4 females, and the rest 16? males.
The method:
The whole process was very well organised, all steps clearly written on the wall. Everyone participated in the ideas and creative process of setting up scenes and pushed the storyline to an understandable stage. All joined in sharing the reading of instructions, the making of comments, and writing of ideas on the white board; then transferred to a paper sheet. On the master paper "grid sheet" where all the scenes, actors, actions, locations, sets, inter titles, were distributed and written down. There was a table with giant red lights bulbs so, we could all see each step has been achieved - everyone sees the process so it pushes you on to keep to the schedule. (All this planning is very practical and esthetic at the same time, very good!!)
One team member chosen from the beginning acted as the time control person. No over time allowed - 45mn is 45mn, otherwise, we wouldnt have been able to finish in time. He's the time management guy (also in a real movie production situation, maybe the role of the budgets person too?). Then one guy was assigned as the camera man - he did all the filming, he turns the camera on/off, a small camera AVCHD was provided by the L'Usine. Light weight handheld, plug in to computer directly and you have the HD 1080 image, sharp and clear!
All the scenes were one off, in camera editing, no further retouch/editing; so all the errors, mishaps, improvisations are captured with original authentic fun. The more errors the more charm (to the makers).
Our film was entitled :
Loco2 Kebab Cavale***
After establishing what genre; we had many genres to start with, and after much voting, we picked the most voted and ended with "Road movie/comedie musicale/absurde/action". (Nobody wants a Drama, romantic movie - when you have a group of strangers, what genre is most lightly to be favored and succeed?)
The musicale idea was discussed to clarify that nobody had to sing and dance, just ordinary singing of dialogues improvised is what it means.
And Action is implied in Road movie, Absurde is naturally in the comedie - so everybody settled with this very long genre.
Then Kebab is a person or a food? Much discussion, a scene with poisoned kebab was deleted because too difficult and story line would be broken - as technical problems of how to show kebab or the food or the person (when Kebab was established out of the blue from the beginning but served as a guiding theme for the storyline), all kinds of improvisations, adaptation had to happen - so the story conforms to this motif and achieved a unity through repetition and coherance, the genre also reinforces a stylistic structure - so all the decisions are generated from "kebab" and "action", "comedie musicale", and "absurde".
So we had several scenes, a radio announcer tells of the news that "Kebabs are disappearing" so Loco goes a-looking for them. Improvised telephone, television screen, and voice-noise dring dring all adds to the charm of the film à la Sweded Film making in the "Be kind, Rewind" method.
This takes the film through: A cafe/tv studio, to a group of people camping, to subway, to Italians in the car, to a wedding in church, all suddenly hears of the missing kebab news ... and everyone gathers on a huge bed singing ready to help Loco find Kebab - (a scene where everybody gets included in the free singing and dancing) to groups of people running after "kebab" and finally they caught "kebab", inside his golden cape, is a large bulge. Loco sings to Kebab, where is Kebab? Out pops a little girl (she was the youngest of the team), she is the Kebab!! At that is the end of the film.
Then, credits, somebody reads the names of participants; and the camera was handed over to the helper who promptly does something w the technician. While the whole team is escorted to a screening room of a flat tv monitor and chairs set up like a cozy screening room. One of the very active member, Sacha jumped up and introduced the film to the audience (us - the team) and presented the princess of the group - the little girl who was shy. But Sacha, always ready to perform did a very gd job of comical and friendly nice presentation. I saw the little girl really enjoyed it, she played along as the "star". What play acting is all about, in front behind, on/off, in/out of scenes. Then the technical guy comes he plugs in the AVCHD and voila our film is screened... 5mn, very interesting and all the scenes are credible to our eyes. But that is largely because we are in our film.
Now, what about other viewers? Would they be so interested in watching this movie?
Most of all, its for good memories of the collaborative efforts of a creative ensemble, an energetic moment where everyones imaginations gets recorded and replayed!
It is a wonderful way to present film making - so one complete working process is carried out and we see success everytime!! Everybody brings their thing to the table.
Lastly, we were taken to the graphics production area - comprise of a table with some magazines to create our DVD jackets, where already there are 10+ dvd's on display - all really cool self made collages! Beautiful!!
Swann really loved the real sets, all the objects in the rooms - coffee bar, bed room, kitchen, are reminiscent of items from the 60s, a little Jacques Tati like, comical, bright, fun colors. With real paintings on the wall, the forest scenes, running city sceneries, car chase backgrounds are video projected onto a screen, or wall papered. Toilets, corridors, all this are photos but in a film, you dont really notice that the image is flat.
Then the camera man - Monsieur Nidaud - was appointed with taking charge of diffusion of our team copy DVD, the other copy will stay in the archive of the L'Usine de films amateur and he will be responsible for linking the whole team and diffusing the film afterwards to all of us.
While we were busy choosing props and disguise, outfits, Michel Gondry and Audrey Tautou in real life came by. Very exciting moment for all... wow, did you see that, Audrey Tautou!! The star in real life is glowingly beautiful and quite petite in fact! Somebody told me, stars and actrices look very better on film when they are petite! Something to do w camera...
A copy of the final "Loco2: Kebab cavale" will be posted when available.
Stay tuned!!
===
L'Usine de film amateur in New York
We see similar props, sets.
The L'Usine de film amateur has been experimented in various places around the world - It would be interesting to see some samples of films from each place!
If you kept the decor and tools more or less the same, what type of films comes out of the l'Usine?
Very creative tools to bring people together for good memories. Watching others fantastic movie is never as fantastic as watching your own movie.
Another film "Bowfinger, roi d'Hollywood"***
on the making of a film by amateurs, film maker wanna bees by Frank Oz with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy - one of my favorite movies on movies making.
===
Other links:
Film reviews of Michel Gondry's work:
"The Eternal sunshine of a spotless mind"***half
On "Gather: an online review"
"The Green Hornet"**
Movies viewed:
"Be Kind, Rewind" ***half
===
MicroTotalArt and TotalArt
What is MicroTotalArt ? It is the make believe world created entirely from scratch using multidisciplinary media and taken from real life reproduced in a Micro scale, small framework, such as Virtual Worlds.
Movie making is a little bigger than the Virtual World, it is TotalArt because it uses means and items in full scale; involves a reproduction of the physical world through a selective process
Movie making is a miniature world of the real physical world : a subset chosen from the infinite physical real world.
Machinima is movie making using Micro sets in the Virtual Worlds from computer games, and online social network platforms such as Secondlife. The cost is much less than using full scale physical film making - however, for some, the learning curve is sharp to become proficient at using the micro environment.
The "Usine de film" has been set up for ease of access for everyone - thus eliminating any "learning curve" - there is no time for preparation, its designed to engage in an immediate action therefore, structured organisation is very important for outputs.
Machinima, on the otherhand, due to the possibilities of refining all the details as much as the creator desired. The creator could do everything himself, acting, directing, script writing, sound, shooting, editing, everything one man show is possible - above all, it is possible materially speaking, accessible to anyone. It only takes time.
Whatever you have at your disposition, time, friends, ready made sets (streets are ready made sets! Your friends homes, your own home, are all ready made sets) if you want to make a film! Its all possible.
Film making is rapidly becoming the paint brush of today.
Swann went to the Centre Pompidou to see how to make a film in 3hrs. And yes, its possible, a 5mn film with 20 people team. 8 of them friends, and the rest joined freely.
The team: actor, director, camera man, sound person all roles mixed and shared
The group of friends was called by a charming enthusiastic young lady just the day before. These are people in their 17s. Lots of energy and very nice kids. The other members were: one mother who brought her adolescent son, one mother who brought her 8 year old girl, one adult man, and one un-registered participant who came to see whats going on and one adult participant-journalist. Altogether 4 females, and the rest 16? males.
The method:
The whole process was very well organised, all steps clearly written on the wall. Everyone participated in the ideas and creative process of setting up scenes and pushed the storyline to an understandable stage. All joined in sharing the reading of instructions, the making of comments, and writing of ideas on the white board; then transferred to a paper sheet. On the master paper "grid sheet" where all the scenes, actors, actions, locations, sets, inter titles, were distributed and written down. There was a table with giant red lights bulbs so, we could all see each step has been achieved - everyone sees the process so it pushes you on to keep to the schedule. (All this planning is very practical and esthetic at the same time, very good!!)
One team member chosen from the beginning acted as the time control person. No over time allowed - 45mn is 45mn, otherwise, we wouldnt have been able to finish in time. He's the time management guy (also in a real movie production situation, maybe the role of the budgets person too?). Then one guy was assigned as the camera man - he did all the filming, he turns the camera on/off, a small camera AVCHD was provided by the L'Usine. Light weight handheld, plug in to computer directly and you have the HD 1080 image, sharp and clear!
All the scenes were one off, in camera editing, no further retouch/editing; so all the errors, mishaps, improvisations are captured with original authentic fun. The more errors the more charm (to the makers).
Our film was entitled :
Loco2 Kebab Cavale***
After establishing what genre; we had many genres to start with, and after much voting, we picked the most voted and ended with "Road movie/comedie musicale/absurde/action". (Nobody wants a Drama, romantic movie - when you have a group of strangers, what genre is most lightly to be favored and succeed?)
The musicale idea was discussed to clarify that nobody had to sing and dance, just ordinary singing of dialogues improvised is what it means.
And Action is implied in Road movie, Absurde is naturally in the comedie - so everybody settled with this very long genre.
Then Kebab is a person or a food? Much discussion, a scene with poisoned kebab was deleted because too difficult and story line would be broken - as technical problems of how to show kebab or the food or the person (when Kebab was established out of the blue from the beginning but served as a guiding theme for the storyline), all kinds of improvisations, adaptation had to happen - so the story conforms to this motif and achieved a unity through repetition and coherance, the genre also reinforces a stylistic structure - so all the decisions are generated from "kebab" and "action", "comedie musicale", and "absurde".
So we had several scenes, a radio announcer tells of the news that "Kebabs are disappearing" so Loco goes a-looking for them. Improvised telephone, television screen, and voice-noise dring dring all adds to the charm of the film à la Sweded Film making in the "Be kind, Rewind" method.
This takes the film through: A cafe/tv studio, to a group of people camping, to subway, to Italians in the car, to a wedding in church, all suddenly hears of the missing kebab news ... and everyone gathers on a huge bed singing ready to help Loco find Kebab - (a scene where everybody gets included in the free singing and dancing) to groups of people running after "kebab" and finally they caught "kebab", inside his golden cape, is a large bulge. Loco sings to Kebab, where is Kebab? Out pops a little girl (she was the youngest of the team), she is the Kebab!! At that is the end of the film.
Then, credits, somebody reads the names of participants; and the camera was handed over to the helper who promptly does something w the technician. While the whole team is escorted to a screening room of a flat tv monitor and chairs set up like a cozy screening room. One of the very active member, Sacha jumped up and introduced the film to the audience (us - the team) and presented the princess of the group - the little girl who was shy. But Sacha, always ready to perform did a very gd job of comical and friendly nice presentation. I saw the little girl really enjoyed it, she played along as the "star". What play acting is all about, in front behind, on/off, in/out of scenes. Then the technical guy comes he plugs in the AVCHD and voila our film is screened... 5mn, very interesting and all the scenes are credible to our eyes. But that is largely because we are in our film.
Now, what about other viewers? Would they be so interested in watching this movie?
Most of all, its for good memories of the collaborative efforts of a creative ensemble, an energetic moment where everyones imaginations gets recorded and replayed!
It is a wonderful way to present film making - so one complete working process is carried out and we see success everytime!! Everybody brings their thing to the table.
Lastly, we were taken to the graphics production area - comprise of a table with some magazines to create our DVD jackets, where already there are 10+ dvd's on display - all really cool self made collages! Beautiful!!
Swann really loved the real sets, all the objects in the rooms - coffee bar, bed room, kitchen, are reminiscent of items from the 60s, a little Jacques Tati like, comical, bright, fun colors. With real paintings on the wall, the forest scenes, running city sceneries, car chase backgrounds are video projected onto a screen, or wall papered. Toilets, corridors, all this are photos but in a film, you dont really notice that the image is flat.
Then the camera man - Monsieur Nidaud - was appointed with taking charge of diffusion of our team copy DVD, the other copy will stay in the archive of the L'Usine de films amateur and he will be responsible for linking the whole team and diffusing the film afterwards to all of us.
While we were busy choosing props and disguise, outfits, Michel Gondry and Audrey Tautou in real life came by. Very exciting moment for all... wow, did you see that, Audrey Tautou!! The star in real life is glowingly beautiful and quite petite in fact! Somebody told me, stars and actrices look very better on film when they are petite! Something to do w camera...
A copy of the final "Loco2: Kebab cavale" will be posted when available.
Stay tuned!!
===
L'Usine de film amateur in New York
We see similar props, sets.
The L'Usine de film amateur has been experimented in various places around the world - It would be interesting to see some samples of films from each place!
If you kept the decor and tools more or less the same, what type of films comes out of the l'Usine?
Very creative tools to bring people together for good memories. Watching others fantastic movie is never as fantastic as watching your own movie.
Another film "Bowfinger, roi d'Hollywood"***
on the making of a film by amateurs, film maker wanna bees by Frank Oz with Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy - one of my favorite movies on movies making.
===
Other links:
Film reviews of Michel Gondry's work:
"The Eternal sunshine of a spotless mind"***half
On "Gather: an online review"
"The Green Hornet"**
Movies viewed:
"Be Kind, Rewind" ***half
===
MicroTotalArt and TotalArt
What is MicroTotalArt ? It is the make believe world created entirely from scratch using multidisciplinary media and taken from real life reproduced in a Micro scale, small framework, such as Virtual Worlds.
Movie making is a little bigger than the Virtual World, it is TotalArt because it uses means and items in full scale; involves a reproduction of the physical world through a selective process
Movie making is a miniature world of the real physical world : a subset chosen from the infinite physical real world.
Machinima is movie making using Micro sets in the Virtual Worlds from computer games, and online social network platforms such as Secondlife. The cost is much less than using full scale physical film making - however, for some, the learning curve is sharp to become proficient at using the micro environment.
The "Usine de film" has been set up for ease of access for everyone - thus eliminating any "learning curve" - there is no time for preparation, its designed to engage in an immediate action therefore, structured organisation is very important for outputs.
Machinima, on the otherhand, due to the possibilities of refining all the details as much as the creator desired. The creator could do everything himself, acting, directing, script writing, sound, shooting, editing, everything one man show is possible - above all, it is possible materially speaking, accessible to anyone. It only takes time.
Whatever you have at your disposition, time, friends, ready made sets (streets are ready made sets! Your friends homes, your own home, are all ready made sets) if you want to make a film! Its all possible.
Film making is rapidly becoming the paint brush of today.
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
I wish I knew **
I wish I knew; stories of Shanghai ** 2010 Jia Zhang Ke
Snippets of famous people in recent history of Shanghai, China, Hong Kong.
We never really get to know the inner characters of these people. The section on Fei Mu and the actrice is most interesting because of the original Fei Mu movie itself. Its a very restrained movie on love and passion that came and went without much things happening. This type of subtle inner turmoil film is very rare and we have the actrice talking about how that movie came about. All the other characters were skimmings on the surface. There should be so much more we feel that there is but we dont see it, and the people intereviewed might not necessarily want to say so much either. So this film just falls flat, quietly.
Snippets of famous people in recent history of Shanghai, China, Hong Kong.
We never really get to know the inner characters of these people. The section on Fei Mu and the actrice is most interesting because of the original Fei Mu movie itself. Its a very restrained movie on love and passion that came and went without much things happening. This type of subtle inner turmoil film is very rare and we have the actrice talking about how that movie came about. All the other characters were skimmings on the surface. There should be so much more we feel that there is but we dont see it, and the people intereviewed might not necessarily want to say so much either. So this film just falls flat, quietly.
Monday, 14 February 2011
robot, new cubes for a new section, Incendies***, Abel**half, Black Swan**half
A Japanese robot that Swannjiejie has assembled, now figure out how to program the robot.
New cubes from aluminum skins prepared by Maria from Austria. Maria is a member of the honorable pre-production team.
(The Barbie doll is for scale only)
===
Incendies ***
Réalisé par : Denis Villeneuve
Avec : Maxim Gaudette, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Rémy Girard, Lubna Azabal,...
Film : Canada, drame, 2009,
Story line is very clear and classic w "chapters" explaining each characters situation, it makes the intricate plot very clear. I think Canadian audiences tends to like this type of construction. Details v gd. But i would have liked to see more after the revelation of the brother+father figure. If we had seen a little more on this character, the film would have gone at least one rank higher. Right now, its a very smart puzzle solving mystery film with realism, it has all the potential to be something lots more - since they already did all the ground work why not take it one step further?
Abel**half
Mexican American film on a strange boy who after an accident decided to take over the role of the father in the family. There are very funny details in the film, showing humans are too human. The ending is somewhat strange, Abel stripped of his fantasy of being father is once again in the hospital and his mom gives him a lollipop which he enjoys v much - hes once again himself, a little boy.
Black Swann **half
This is a movie for Nathalie Portman - the Audrey Hepburn like innocent purity princess type of girl who has to become sultry, sexy, passionate and dark! Not only in a ballet but in her everyday life of dancing (otherwise, she couldnt play the dark figures). Its glossy eye candy for all. The theme reminds me of a European movie entitled Esther Kahn. Esther Kahn wants to be a great comedian, but until she has really lived through suffering she could not possibly play the great roles with convincing feelings.
Portman has been trained as a ballet dancer - but here, she is good but not much more than that. The acting is gd, but not much more than that. Somehow its a bit rigid. And Vincent Cassels who is so good as a sexy male in a lot of movies, in this one, he also is only a cardboard figure of a sort. It must be the script; its basically straight forward and nothing much else. Winona Ryder looks very interesting as ex-ballerina. Smoky eyes, shes yummy too. Then there are these self masturbation scenes, lesbian scenes, seduction scenes... all heated up and sauteed here and there, but not so delicious after all.
Sunday, 13 February 2011
ANIMAUX ET CIE -*, Russian animation 70s***half
ANIMAUX ET CIE -*
A 3D animation shown in 2D screen. Story and scenario, dialogue all trite and forced. * for effort. Actually I even tried very hard to not fall asleep during the film - it was so boring. Once the film ended, I woked up immediately.
Russian animation from the 70s, DVD ***half
Prize winning shorts in 2D graphics - story detail, beautiful intelligent use of graphics, music all so smart, competant, humorous and masterly all the way.
(Detail coming)
A 3D animation shown in 2D screen. Story and scenario, dialogue all trite and forced. * for effort. Actually I even tried very hard to not fall asleep during the film - it was so boring. Once the film ended, I woked up immediately.
Russian animation from the 70s, DVD ***half
Prize winning shorts in 2D graphics - story detail, beautiful intelligent use of graphics, music all so smart, competant, humorous and masterly all the way.
(Detail coming)
Friday, 11 February 2011
Official Blogger for North Pole Expedition! Come vote!!
http://www.blogyourwaytothenorthpole.com/entries/301
Click! Mini me to real life, a Crossing Boundary Adventure
A most unusual trip that changed my life was the crossing boundary expedition; getting myself and others to go from the Virtual World to the Real World.
Factually speaking, going from real life Paris to an international online virtual world and back out to their respective geographic locations. I started from zero – a maximum zero that I had been able to muster, and at the same time being myself. Would I get to live a very different life, even though a slightly vicarious one? The trip lasted about one year when I began trying to meet Virtual World avatars in the Real World.
The first place I visited in the Virtual World was a Japanese location set in the 40’s of post-war Japan in a small village. It was very strange to be in a bar where the same people hung out all the time and I did not speak Japanese. The Virtual World allowed me to be thick skinned enough to descend into the bar everyday even though no one really spoke to me except the bar tender. He was a most mature and courteous person – I suspected he was there for a very good reason. It was his real life job to be there and not a “play job”. Turned out that this charming, realistic and conventional bar in the village was set up by TV Tokyo for a real show to be shot and broadcast on air. My mini me was a real figure in a real shooting event!
Little by little, I completed my Virtual World project. Born at zero in the Virtual World, I became Head of a Museum Prototype and am exporting the same in the real world.
I have exported a section - 10% - of a Mobile Museum into real life last year in Taiwan – the building is ongoing. The name of the museum is Digital Guqin Museum from the Virtual World to the Real World
Why would I think that I am the right person to be Offical blogger for a North Pole expedition?
As a bona-fide explorer-story teller, I see opportunities and possibilities for stories everywhere. Aside from blogging, I will also create a comic book of the trip - for pleasure; and a video – for video is our contemporary painting tool, for visual poetry in the “real”.
Click! Mini me to real life, a Crossing Boundary Adventure
A most unusual trip that changed my life was the crossing boundary expedition; getting myself and others to go from the Virtual World to the Real World.
Factually speaking, going from real life Paris to an international online virtual world and back out to their respective geographic locations. I started from zero – a maximum zero that I had been able to muster, and at the same time being myself. Would I get to live a very different life, even though a slightly vicarious one? The trip lasted about one year when I began trying to meet Virtual World avatars in the Real World.
The first place I visited in the Virtual World was a Japanese location set in the 40’s of post-war Japan in a small village. It was very strange to be in a bar where the same people hung out all the time and I did not speak Japanese. The Virtual World allowed me to be thick skinned enough to descend into the bar everyday even though no one really spoke to me except the bar tender. He was a most mature and courteous person – I suspected he was there for a very good reason. It was his real life job to be there and not a “play job”. Turned out that this charming, realistic and conventional bar in the village was set up by TV Tokyo for a real show to be shot and broadcast on air. My mini me was a real figure in a real shooting event!
Little by little, I completed my Virtual World project. Born at zero in the Virtual World, I became Head of a Museum Prototype and am exporting the same in the real world.
I have exported a section - 10% - of a Mobile Museum into real life last year in Taiwan – the building is ongoing. The name of the museum is Digital Guqin Museum from the Virtual World to the Real World
Why would I think that I am the right person to be Offical blogger for a North Pole expedition?
As a bona-fide explorer-story teller, I see opportunities and possibilities for stories everywhere. Aside from blogging, I will also create a comic book of the trip - for pleasure; and a video – for video is our contemporary painting tool, for visual poetry in the “real”.
Thursday, 10 February 2011
La Haine ****, LES CHEMINS DE LA LIBERTE**half
LA HAINE**** bravo bravo, this is one of the few films that I gave 4* to
Drame - Durée :1h35
de Mathieu Kassovitz
avec Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé et Saïd Taghmaoui
I have come across this movie many many times in various countries in various film festivals and in cinemas, cinematheques, I even have a copy of the DVD; but i have never viewed the film.
Finally I did today - to my surprise, it was shown in a regular large fancy screening room in the frame work of a special viewing in my neighbourhood cinema and a session for cinephiles - as a course work for a high school history class. So the room was full of 17, 18 yr olds plus the school master, the teacher, the assistant teachers; and because i was v late, they end up all sitting next to me.
What a film, quick paced, and very sympathetic characters of youths in the cité (low rental housing projects). Not a moment of pause in the running violence of immigrant neighbourhood. The violence is not only in the youth but also in the police, the other side. This is not the France of Gucci, LV, and semi nude models in lacy underwear on posters at ordinary bus stops; it is focused on the other end. And the kindness and humour we see in underdogs - in many scenes, its very realistic and not at all posed. There is very little "white lies" we feel its a gut film.
Vincent Cassel a handsome white voyou guy, a v nice black guy Hubert Koundé, and a half crazed cute Algerian-French guy Saïd Taghmaoui - the trio goes around town dealing w their problems. All details very interesting.
In this film also, there is a scene where a guy impersonates the Robert de Niro character in Taxi Driver - and Vincent Cassel did a v gd version of it - hes got "du chien".
This reminds me of the film Un , Deux, Trois, Soleil, with Mastrioianni who plays the life of an Italian immigrant in Marseille where he wakes up int he morning goes to work, exhausted, cant find his apt, and flopped into any apt, in any bed, a black family bed - and nobody is astonished, he slept and gets up and tries to find his real home - which is not in any of the apts of Marseille, but finally in a boat, retirement to Italy, his homeland. Sweet and Sour films of the the other end of the French world.
LES CHEMINS DE LA LIBERTE V.F. **half
Drame - Durée : 2h15
de Peter Weir
avec Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell
Nice scenarios, story about camaraderie, basically a long hike through the snow, desert, looking for water, some kindly chit chat, eating snakes, catching fish, coming to the great wall, (the Great wall is very low here? it looks like a wall in your friends backyard!) finally into India! It not very moving, but still a very nice picturesque film - National Geographics Entertainment - yes.
Drame - Durée :1h35
de Mathieu Kassovitz
avec Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé et Saïd Taghmaoui
I have come across this movie many many times in various countries in various film festivals and in cinemas, cinematheques, I even have a copy of the DVD; but i have never viewed the film.
Finally I did today - to my surprise, it was shown in a regular large fancy screening room in the frame work of a special viewing in my neighbourhood cinema and a session for cinephiles - as a course work for a high school history class. So the room was full of 17, 18 yr olds plus the school master, the teacher, the assistant teachers; and because i was v late, they end up all sitting next to me.
What a film, quick paced, and very sympathetic characters of youths in the cité (low rental housing projects). Not a moment of pause in the running violence of immigrant neighbourhood. The violence is not only in the youth but also in the police, the other side. This is not the France of Gucci, LV, and semi nude models in lacy underwear on posters at ordinary bus stops; it is focused on the other end. And the kindness and humour we see in underdogs - in many scenes, its very realistic and not at all posed. There is very little "white lies" we feel its a gut film.
Vincent Cassel a handsome white voyou guy, a v nice black guy Hubert Koundé, and a half crazed cute Algerian-French guy Saïd Taghmaoui - the trio goes around town dealing w their problems. All details very interesting.
In this film also, there is a scene where a guy impersonates the Robert de Niro character in Taxi Driver - and Vincent Cassel did a v gd version of it - hes got "du chien".
This reminds me of the film Un , Deux, Trois, Soleil, with Mastrioianni who plays the life of an Italian immigrant in Marseille where he wakes up int he morning goes to work, exhausted, cant find his apt, and flopped into any apt, in any bed, a black family bed - and nobody is astonished, he slept and gets up and tries to find his real home - which is not in any of the apts of Marseille, but finally in a boat, retirement to Italy, his homeland. Sweet and Sour films of the the other end of the French world.
LES CHEMINS DE LA LIBERTE V.F. **half
Drame - Durée : 2h15
de Peter Weir
avec Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell
Nice scenarios, story about camaraderie, basically a long hike through the snow, desert, looking for water, some kindly chit chat, eating snakes, catching fish, coming to the great wall, (the Great wall is very low here? it looks like a wall in your friends backyard!) finally into India! It not very moving, but still a very nice picturesque film - National Geographics Entertainment - yes.
Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Tron **
Tron**
Lots of special effects, story about games, entering "the grid" (after virtual world online games, social networks, this "gaming on the grid" premise seem not so serious, and father and son fighting to the end together - with slicing disks throwing - the fighters does acrobatic somersauts in mid air, but all their arms are slicing disks, and bars which compiles in an instant into motocycles, airplanes, guns. Then chasing in the air, more shooting. The girl loses an arm which through computer programming is re-generated through little cristal building blocks... everything is acrylic transparent or glossy black with reflector tapes along the body to ressemble a circuit board. Stylistically very 80s, they are walking motherboards with some human emotions. Maybe I didnt catch the story. The music is powerful and effective but not memorable to me.
Why do people think Tron is so great? Somebody told me that the first Tron to get the bright lighting track effects - for example on their suits or their trajectory in flight, they had to paint it in frame by frame!
The first Tron must have been quite impressive from many points of view, computer programming, virtual world, the conceptor ressembling its programme, ideas, so now we get a sequel, the current Tron Heritage. It looks very 80s to me. Because it is a story from the 80s. Should the new Tron also ressemble 80s? If not, why did they do it?
Lots of special effects, story about games, entering "the grid" (after virtual world online games, social networks, this "gaming on the grid" premise seem not so serious, and father and son fighting to the end together - with slicing disks throwing - the fighters does acrobatic somersauts in mid air, but all their arms are slicing disks, and bars which compiles in an instant into motocycles, airplanes, guns. Then chasing in the air, more shooting. The girl loses an arm which through computer programming is re-generated through little cristal building blocks... everything is acrylic transparent or glossy black with reflector tapes along the body to ressemble a circuit board. Stylistically very 80s, they are walking motherboards with some human emotions. Maybe I didnt catch the story. The music is powerful and effective but not memorable to me.
Why do people think Tron is so great? Somebody told me that the first Tron to get the bright lighting track effects - for example on their suits or their trajectory in flight, they had to paint it in frame by frame!
The first Tron must have been quite impressive from many points of view, computer programming, virtual world, the conceptor ressembling its programme, ideas, so now we get a sequel, the current Tron Heritage. It looks very 80s to me. Because it is a story from the 80s. Should the new Tron also ressemble 80s? If not, why did they do it?
Another Year ***
Another Year***
What is endearing is the story, how ordinary people do ordinary things. Problems we encounter, pretty girls growing old and trying to find a companion - and sure footed folks enter in old age with comforting gardens and good home cooking. Its about life, fine details of character portrayals. Though the pretty girl Mary is a little quickly sketched, afterall she has worked 20 years in an office, how could she behave like a floosy 20 yr old gal? And if her friend coworker is so balanced and fine, wouldnt we see a better Mary already? A little caracatural and too quick. The engineer man is endearing but the young girlfriend of son of engineer is not so endearing. However, what we see is what we get, there are many layers of unsaid - social usage of language - sends you little chills - Mary's friend is not so forgiving afterall, Mary is only tolerated when we see that she is clearly in need of more than social chit chat friend ship. But, that is life. The lesson1 is this: dont hang around other peoples family too much, because its their family. Lesson no2, when you are old and fat, drunk, a little lame, dont try to kiss a girl who clearly doesnt have the same feelings for you! Lesson no3: dont buy a car from a man with gold tooth caps! Lesson no4: most important lesson of all, doesnt matter how pretty you are, once you are older than young and cute, you better have something more than your looks. No one will be very kind to you forever. (same w the old fat drunk lame man, he had been good looking but hes now like this.) Rainy day movie set in working class London full of struggles from bottom up. I like the scenarios though, and the garden outside of a fine kitchen. You could imagine lots of peoples homes are like this, unpretentious, warm and endearing refuge at the end of a hard days work.
What is endearing is the story, how ordinary people do ordinary things. Problems we encounter, pretty girls growing old and trying to find a companion - and sure footed folks enter in old age with comforting gardens and good home cooking. Its about life, fine details of character portrayals. Though the pretty girl Mary is a little quickly sketched, afterall she has worked 20 years in an office, how could she behave like a floosy 20 yr old gal? And if her friend coworker is so balanced and fine, wouldnt we see a better Mary already? A little caracatural and too quick. The engineer man is endearing but the young girlfriend of son of engineer is not so endearing. However, what we see is what we get, there are many layers of unsaid - social usage of language - sends you little chills - Mary's friend is not so forgiving afterall, Mary is only tolerated when we see that she is clearly in need of more than social chit chat friend ship. But, that is life. The lesson1 is this: dont hang around other peoples family too much, because its their family. Lesson no2, when you are old and fat, drunk, a little lame, dont try to kiss a girl who clearly doesnt have the same feelings for you! Lesson no3: dont buy a car from a man with gold tooth caps! Lesson no4: most important lesson of all, doesnt matter how pretty you are, once you are older than young and cute, you better have something more than your looks. No one will be very kind to you forever. (same w the old fat drunk lame man, he had been good looking but hes now like this.) Rainy day movie set in working class London full of struggles from bottom up. I like the scenarios though, and the garden outside of a fine kitchen. You could imagine lots of peoples homes are like this, unpretentious, warm and endearing refuge at the end of a hard days work.
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
machinima beginner lessons, Danny Wong Worawat
http://tikafviper.eklablog.com/machinima-101-beginners-lesson-a2774574
machinima beginner lessons
http://www.montriwongworawat.com/albums/projects/guqinconstruction/
Danny Wong worawat Qin making pics
http://www.i-nigma.com/Downloadi-nigmaReader.html
2d barcode reader download free
machinima beginner lessons
http://www.montriwongworawat.com/albums/projects/guqinconstruction/
Danny Wong worawat Qin making pics
http://www.i-nigma.com/Downloadi-nigmaReader.html
2d barcode reader download free
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Portraits, People stories, Matisse
People are most interesting subjects. Here we see a painting by Matisse. This black color looks so soft and furry - the contrast is so luxurious. Who could this person be?
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
The Kings speech ***, Arietty **
The Kings speech ***
Very moving and informative. I read from Françoise Dolto that stutterers when singing do not stutter. Here, the speech therapist treating King George and becoming his friend relaxes him, helps him make the speech delivery successful. I also see a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth through this film that being King and Queen are not at all what the piece of cake that we imagine.
After watching this, I feel like going to a speech lesson teacher to see if my speech could be buffed up here and there... :) (ie like those little bankers who need a little brush up to improve...)
I see speech as music after watching the film.
Arietty **
More fairy tale stuff from Mizayaki the creator of Porco Rosso etc. Except as expected, hes repeating himself over and over again, the story is flatly sweet w little dramatic bad character, only fading images of kindness upon kindness - i fell asleep near the end. Though I must say it catches the European house dream of Japanese gentille folks. The film was shown in Japanese w subtitles. The room was maybe 10 viewers, and the previous session w many Asian kids - Japanese kids I think. Its so that they could see a film with Japanese language?
Very moving and informative. I read from Françoise Dolto that stutterers when singing do not stutter. Here, the speech therapist treating King George and becoming his friend relaxes him, helps him make the speech delivery successful. I also see a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth through this film that being King and Queen are not at all what the piece of cake that we imagine.
After watching this, I feel like going to a speech lesson teacher to see if my speech could be buffed up here and there... :) (ie like those little bankers who need a little brush up to improve...)
I see speech as music after watching the film.
Arietty **
More fairy tale stuff from Mizayaki the creator of Porco Rosso etc. Except as expected, hes repeating himself over and over again, the story is flatly sweet w little dramatic bad character, only fading images of kindness upon kindness - i fell asleep near the end. Though I must say it catches the European house dream of Japanese gentille folks. The film was shown in Japanese w subtitles. The room was maybe 10 viewers, and the previous session w many Asian kids - Japanese kids I think. Its so that they could see a film with Japanese language?
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Pina Bausch Documentary ***
saw Pina Bausch documentary *** today, its how she works a piece w people whos never danced before and made it into a performance, v v nice moving.
We see how the adolescent dancers changes from one wk to the next, what dancing involves; dances of expression (unlike HipHop)says one of the guys. And the internal work of each of the dancers, they must project from their own personalities, their emotions, their experiences of love, sadness, hate. A lot of the dancers have never experienced passionate love before so the tutors and themselves make use of other love experiences, such as parental love, brotherly sisterly love.
The adolescents changes into diff dresses for practice, they put on a dress somewhat nice for them from vintage bags (red blue white strip bags) of clothing - like those fouille fouille piles, suddenly i see how we could try on dresses jsut like that! Then for the real performance they had seamstress to make the exact dress for the dancers. A lot of dresses had to be taken in because all the bodies are so different.
Very rich film. Makes me want to join such a dancing adventure.
We see how the adolescent dancers changes from one wk to the next, what dancing involves; dances of expression (unlike HipHop)says one of the guys. And the internal work of each of the dancers, they must project from their own personalities, their emotions, their experiences of love, sadness, hate. A lot of the dancers have never experienced passionate love before so the tutors and themselves make use of other love experiences, such as parental love, brotherly sisterly love.
The adolescents changes into diff dresses for practice, they put on a dress somewhat nice for them from vintage bags (red blue white strip bags) of clothing - like those fouille fouille piles, suddenly i see how we could try on dresses jsut like that! Then for the real performance they had seamstress to make the exact dress for the dancers. A lot of dresses had to be taken in because all the bodies are so different.
Very rich film. Makes me want to join such a dancing adventure.
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