Notes On A Scandal

There are bloodcurdling monsters with sharp fangs and insatiable bloodlusts, blade-wielding killers with unbeatable stealth and combat skills-and other sorts of other-worldly and unusual evils-then there’s the ordinary character who’s absolutely weaponless and absent of any extraordinary talents, but alas, through one way or another, the latter emerges the most terrifying villain of all. Judi Dench gives the most outstanding performance I’ve seen since Charlize Theron’s turn in Monster (2003), and I strongly believe this is no silly understatement-her work here has earned her a well-deserved Oscar nomination (one which I believe won’t be won-Hellen Mirren has this one locked-why? I personally think The Queen fairs much better as a whole). Before I get carried away with showering endless praises for her, let’s get back to the movie itself. The best thing I found about NOAS, is how the story determinedly places its focus only on one solitary issue: the relationship between Sheba and Barbara-there are no unnecessary or disrupting subplots to distract us, nor are the other characters given much attention :the innocent schoolboy, the disappointed father, and the rest of the cast decidedly remain out of the spotlight and slightly one-dimensional, giving the two main characters more than ample space to breath-any ordinary actor would normally collapse under such pressure and weight, but we all know neither Dench or Blanchett come close to ordinary-unsurprisingly they gracefully manage this by giving wonderful performances. Other aspects of the film fulfill our expectations but don’t go beyond that-the script (mostly consisting of Barbara’s narrating of the story through her diary) is smart and precise but it lacks realism (coming from the director of Closer, one does not expect much of that) and goes slightly over-the-top a few times. The movie has an incredibly intense mood that stretches from start to end-with aid from an impeccable score (aside from Blanchett and Dench,Philip Glass also gets an Oscar nomination for the film's soundtrack) consistent pace and an astoundingly clear, unwavering objective. But once the film ends, it won’t be the movie’s script or secondary aspects that will be lingering in your mind, it will most definitely be Judi Dench. Her performance as a closeted, madly-obsessive lesbian whose life of enforced loneliness viciously drives her to tear Sheba’s world and her own apart is simply spectacular. On the surface,NOAS features a pedestrian plot and nothing special really, but Judi Dench makes every single cent and second you give worthwhile.

Orientation

The image of a bald,newly-shaven Britney Spears strikes me as disturbing,at the same time vaguely attractive because i never really thought she was hot before,even when she donned a schoolgirl uniform and kinkily asked the whole world to smack her-so i'll take this as an improvement.Anyways,what she does with her life or hair is really her prerogative and none of my business,so let's shift the attention to my monotonous life.The past week has seen soon-to-be freshmen eagerly circling the uni area in preparation for the anxiously-awaited first year.Come orientation,the sun shone bright enough to make my eyes pop out of their sockets,and the smiling first-years were all over the campus like worms over a dead body-most of them with various pamphlets guarded to their chests,eyes sparkling like a newborns and the excitement comparable to that of old,horny men under Viagra.Not that that's a bad thing-any form of happiness or satisfaction is fine by me,it's just that the whole orientation process reminds me of last year's (in college)-where it was I who was overeager,frantically excited and had high hopes for the year-but looking at how last year turned out (no doubt it was great,with few bumps on the road-but it wasn't the unrealistically perfect picture i had expected on Orientation Day)-so perhaps I've learned my lesson,that it's best to keep my expectations moderate while at the same time avoiding pessimism at all costs.You can't be disappointed when you haven't expected anything-although this kind of lazy-minded philosophy encourages severe passivity,it can be used in situations like this (orientation) where my motivation derives from the need to be realistic,happy and not blatant ignorance.I think.Will be getting my timetable on Tuesday,and classes begin shortly after that-and my inner Lilian Too tells me this:My first few weeks will be rocky:knowing my anti-social tendencies making new pals will inevitably be a rocky journey (just like it was last year),but after a while when my emotions drown out and common sense kicks in (i expect this shift of moons will take place in the 3rd week) the social pressure will fortunately fade away slowly.In terms of academic performance,I'll have trouble with subjects like Microeconomics (the title alone sparks a thick drop of sweat) and considering the fact that first-year commerce students are banned from taking up any electives,I'm left with all these technical and dull subjects that would leave me with a zombie face and slouched back at the end of every tiresome day-grades won't have me jumping for joy,but they'll do okay,improvement comes in small steps from months of practice and proper organization.Love might come out from its shadows to do an all-too-brief cameo,but the chance that it blossoms into something serious equals to the chances of me excelling in Accountancy.Family troubles will pop up here and there,with one very huge quake that threatens to shake up the whole balance-but after a few weeks of torturing silence everything will prove benign.Okay,I'm getting way too carried away with this-while throwing unkind glances and doubtful frowns,i secretly hope that every single man and woman i encounter will eventually figure out their lives and work out their troubles,so this endlessly gloomy world can find a collective motivation to smile for once.

Pan's Labyrinth

Pan’s Labyrinth is basically a childlike fairy tale complete with shape-shifting fairies and mythical monsters-but beneath its shiny innocence lays a tale of brutality that features an astounding amount of maturity, violence and emotional complexity. The story starts off in a seemingly uncomplicated fashion-the camera lingering on shots of the forest and other beautiful sights (including the first appearance of a fairy)-gradually this fades away as the story plunges into darker depths and when the situation demands for realism or bloodshed, the director doesn't shy away but fulfills this with naked, unapologetic grit. The special effects as well as the music arrangement works remarkably well with the overall development-despite portraying cruelty or sadism the screen is still livid with resonance and color, for the most it remains ingenuously childlike while its story wanders into its war-related subplot. The performances are top notch but nothing extraordinary, with the unfortunate exception of Ivana Baquero (Ofelia) who must probably be the worst child actor (to have been stupid enough to wave off her lack of talent or screen presence, courageously taking on a main character) because her expressions almost never cross beyond one, unvaried look of total blurriness, and whenever she’s supposed to express anxiety or fear, she does this by breathing heavily and pretty much nothing else. It’s clear she’s untrained and very conscious about performing around cameras and lights, making her emotional breadth impaired and confidence shattered. Aside from this, the film looses its focus and solidity somewhere in the middle-it’s said that Ofelia needs to complete three tasks before she is crowned princess, and after two of these take place the story takes a long,long,long break into the subplot before returning to the third challenge at the end. For a while it felt as if the writers had changed their minds halfway through finishing the script, briefly contemplating a full-blown combat drama but then for some reason deciding against it-the power of the film’s take on fantasy is at first firmly enhanced by stunning visuals and the balance it first strikes with its adult themes, but when the politics and adult conflicts are given too much attention this balance immediately disappears and so does everything that was horrific, heartfelt and cohesive about the movie. Honestly I was a bit disappointed when the movie ended because my expectations were amazingly high when I first walked in, due to RT’s rating (96%!), the many good reviews of the movie I had read, and most significantly, the enormous Oscar buzz surrounding this film. Alas Pan’s Labyrinth, to me at least, was something of an exciting ride that got tiresome halfway through its lengthy run-finally I felt that the film’s various strengths couldn't make it any less forgettable or incoherent.

Random Trivia: Don't expect Malaysian cinemas to show this anytime soon.The film was banned in Malaysia by the Malaysia Censorship Board due to excessive violent scenes.I'd like to be given the choice to see whichever films i want without some undeserving organization shamelessly electing themselves as the country's moral compass-then again,can't ask much from a government that mistakes blind cooperation for something close to valuable.

Valentine's

-NY Times has a feature on Oscar nominees (most of them are actors IN an Oscar-nominated film,all looking great)-pictured is the entrancing Rinko Kikuchi,who was fantastic in the mediocre Babel.It's Valentine's Day,to me its just another day but PostSecret has a bunch of interesting,slightly depressing V-day submissions.

-Lost fanaticism still very much alive and pumping.Last week's episode (Season 3,Ep 7) was satisfying,especially since the first 6 eps before that were typically elusive and vague about things.I love it best when someone discovers a small,crazy clue hidden in a humongous haystack-like how someone discovered this peculiar clue (?) found when the Brainwashing scene from last week is played backwards.

-This interview is a couple weeks old but i had just found it a while ago.Usually when the producers or directors of the show are interviewed they beat around the bush and prefer to remain in the shadows,thankfully in this particular linkworthy interview they willingly dish out some answers-and they do mention which upcoming episodes will resolve which specific mystery.

-Speaking of Lost,last week's brainwashing scene had many viewers guessing it was a reference to Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange'',which i had decided to rent (along with a few other films,including Might Aphrodite,which i felt was Woody Allen's weakest film).I have to say A Clockwork Orange,despite dating way back to 1971,has got to be one the craziest,most interesting and unique film i've ever seen.I didn't quite like Kubrick's Shining,but this one was one heck of an insane movie i'd immediately place in my top 3 films and recommend to anyone open enough to the movie's daring approach (it deals with taboos like rape as if it were a casual conversation about apples-earning the 2nd spot on EW's Top 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever-right behind Mel Gibson's Oscar-dissed Passion of The Christ,also its number 54 on IMDB's Top 250 List).

Life Philosohpy No. 1987:Love,or Die.

Black & White

Meg: Chris,you're hogging all the fans!

Chris: Well, you're hogging up all the ugly!

(From Family Guy)

Arrived about a day ago and things have been going smooth so far.The phone lines and internet were both busted and it took sometime to fix the whole darn thing-and the room's DVD player plays black and white (i've switched the wires countless times in a futile attempt to bring colour in) but i finally gave in,went down to the City Library this morning to rent some old black and white films-like,Manhattan (pictured).It's from 1979,features the ever adorable babbling and self-righteous,overly self-aware Woody Allen as well as Diane Keaton (who was also in Annie Hall with Allen,playing the kooky and exuberant title character) and the incredibly beautiful Meryl Streep,whose impact lingers around after the movie despite playing a very small character.She has this presence i can't describe in words.Manhattan's now one of my fav romantic films,only for its superb script and perfectly unconventional and multi-layered storyline-but i've always been a sucker for old Woody Allen films,ever since i saw Deconstructing Harry in my preteen years.Watched The Queen on dvd again yesterday,and seriously,the subtlety of this film goes understated and much to be admired-only once does a character shout (when Blair screams at his assistant),however the film's just as intense and interesting,much of its emotional resonance and depth contributed by Hellen Mirren's brilliant performance and extraordinary script.The new room's perfectly proportioned and i have a generous view of the sun from my window-so yesterday when my head felt like exploding from not being able to sleep (after downing a whole bottle of ice coffee,a stupid measure taken to cure the excruciating sore throat i felt),the cure arrived early morning in the form of sunrise.The Nova Cinema,known to ditch huge blockbusters in favour of small indies (they have a signed poster of Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind,one i'm determined to obtain,one way or another),are currently showing the three films i've been anticipating for months but haven't been able to get my hands on-Notes On A Scandal,Last King Of Scotland and Pan's Labyrinth-the last one had me eagerly searching high and low,in various dvd stores and torrent websites,because i've read so many good reviews and many of them reportedly calling it the best film of 06'.My thoughts and overall state of mind is still plagued by a certain feeling of dizziness,isolation and weird divide from having newly landed in Melbourne after two months-suddenly i'm too conscious about everything and everything and everything-i really need some distractions to put my mind off whatever hellishly gruesome thoughts its waiting to bow down to.Been reading (or,more accurately-trying to finish) Mitch Albom's 'Tuesdays With Morrie'-the overly simplistic language and random outpouring of so-called lifelessons in every chapter makes me question the book's supposedly 'Bestseller' title,but then again i can understand how many find the underlying story,about a dying professor and his student,sincere and humane somehow.

Real Good Things

For the many mighty,almost indestructible and unwantedly visible flaws we're given to deal with,God makes up for this by handing us one or two good traits that are most commonly discovered during the rocky years known as self-discovery.Easy example:The Hunchback of Notre Dame (excellent movie by the way),cursed with a hideousness comparable only to that of Satan's Evil,is blessed with a good and loving heart,one which is inevitably discovered by some dancing Gypsy who is more than willing to trade her lifetime of sex with horny jocks with a man whose heart simply outshone everything else.Okay,my point drifted somewhere midway through the sentence-miserably capsized in my foolish,capricious need to sentimentalize the bloody sentence into some freaking fantasy-but you get the gist, don't you?Anyways,I'm still waiting for my share of Real Good Things (the emphasis here on waiting)-therapists,counsellors and optimists alike would argue that those things of which i impatiently wait for have already been there for the longest time,only overshadowed by unwillingness to look beyond the bad stuff.Somtimes in a real world,one characterized by corruption,indirect tyranny,selfishness and violence-optimism is a lost religion,one hopelessly followed by meandering dreamers who'd prefer to contemplate the definitions of big,abysmal words like 'Justice' and 'Equality' than realise that beyond their thin,fragile covers of complex theories and understandings lie a dark universe far too complex to be summed by words and arguments alone.Good Things do happen to me-and sometimes those unusual,unlikely coincidences (the intelligent hands of fate mischievously disguised under the bimbotic covers of Lady Luck) when,the tiniest of good things occur and change (a word that is often loosely used without properly acknowledging its weight) things,in a time when life's down times had shrunk my belief in Good Things to an indiscernible baby penis size.But their impact lasts merely for a few hours,at most for a few days,before i'm once again slapped with the harsh realities of life-so where is my Real Good Thing (notice how the word real now actually makes sense)?As i willingly listen to people busily talking about the many preparations,painstakingly done with a sense of meticulousness usually reserved for Royalty,for my sister's wedding,i begin to ask myself where i had gone wrong.On the surface (i say this because there's a big possibility i've been negligent and biased in my observations),my sister (the bride-to-be) has had an exciting life as a teenager and young adult,both her beautiful looks and smart brain taking her to places i can only dream of (two of them being a fortified career and solid relationship)-she would probably lead an eventful life full of Disney-like laughs and smiles (and other heartwarming elements) whereas I belief i'm destined for an eternity of dysfunction characterized by a few divorces,a whole lot of shouting and arguing with different people,multiple failures and other forms of mental torture,the only possible bright light being that all my miseries be bought by some silly director and made a dumb film starring a woeful man named Abdul Ghani,whose stunning and tearjerking performance wins him an Oscar and four supposedly virgin wives.At least my life-long suffering gives someone,if not myself,something worth smiling for.Okay,of course i'm writing all of this with cynicism and ignorance,and i realise that half of what's written here can be the small topics fuelling hourlong arguments or possibly just one short,brutal scoff.Sometimes i let my cynicism breath and expand,i'm curious to see what sort of crap it can conjure when i let my thoughts roam free without being chaperoned by Moral Conscience or Rellevance (the two higher powers that rule a democratic place-they take the rare vacation when one prefers to be ignorant,gets high or drunk,or is possessed by one's Inner Savagery-the motivation behind the murdering children in Lord of The Flies).So i guess the holiday's over for this couple,best stop here before i start murdering people or joining jihad missions (something that my poorly misguided agama teacher said would lead us to Heaven-startling how some self-proclaimed religious people encourage us to steer away from violence,but are surprisingly willing to use it for self benefit).Anyways,my mood now,if personified by music (maybe Mr. Abdul has a great voice,and it'll be a stage musical instead)-would be the melodious voices of Corrine Bailey Rae and Norah Jones-i'm feeling lightheaded and depression-free,and as i take time to bask in this state of childlike bliss i secretly wish that the stars,the moon,and the ominous blue skies stretch the night to a long decade so i can forever lie comfortably in oblivion.

Psychobabble

Allright,i'm way to dizzy to think straight so i'm gonna shooot it all out today.Finally finished with Marisha Pessl's Special Topics In Calamity Physics,all in all it's pretty obvious the author's darn fcking intelligent-plenty of fun and excitement stored in there-but almost half the book was about digressions,digressions that were no doubt exuberant and fun,but totally uneccessary-it was only after three quarters of the book that the Big Incident finally takes place,after a long,harrowing journey past many little subplots-some of them contained tiny pieces that contributed towards solving the final mystery-but because all the answers were packed in the last few chapters,they seemed utterly dense and heavy if compared to the other chapters that weren't as fact-filled and serious.

Moving on,will be returning to Melbourne in a couple days-in what seemed to be a spirit of total oblivion and sweet,sinful delight-i went on to purchase a number of things that would no doubt be difficult to fit in my luggage without going past the small weight limit-too late to regret now,so i'll simply have to conjure some unlawful strategies to squeeze my way past being caught.Anyways,the holidays have been smooth for the most,with very few petty misfortunes thrown my way-so i'm more than ready to go back,while the going's good before something bad comes across and scratches out the past holiday's coveted ''Best Holiday Ever'' title.

With all the tv shows either going sour,taking breaks or losing my interest-i started rummaging through the dvd collection,mostly filled with tv series i've either never heard of or haven't had the time to properly watch (e.g:The Closer,Deadwood,Prison Break) where i stumbled onto the undiscovered (Well,at least to me-according to big Wiki the show's reaped a handful of Emmy nominations in the past few years,attracted millions of viewers and is approaching its end) greatness that is The Sopranos,which,absentmindedly described-is about a Jersey mafia gang leader whose eventful life is filled with family,personal and work-related troubles-every perilous episode is an hour-long,the long duration allows stories to go much deeper than they usually do in 30 minute episodes and every ep i've watched has been interesting and intense-they're crude and say fuck a lot,but seriously once one puts their sensitivity for this aside,one would notice the other great things the show offers.Anyways,LOST returns today (for its final run?) and i really hope they start speeding things up a little,start giving answers instead of posing more questions-a bit of thinking challenge would be splendid,but too much would be tedious and hefty for the average teen or adult.

I only heard about Robert Altman after he died,and when he did pass away people called him a legend and other equally marvellous terms-so i decided to check out one of his films,Gosford Park-which won an Oscar and has a pretty high rating on RT-okay maybe back then the Oscar jury board was occupied by geniuses and intellects,because to me this film was so bloody overlong and mind-numbingly monotonous my patience was stretched to its most strenuous length-i'd much prefer Woody Allen's bizzare and eccentric approach,rather than Altman's slow-paced and dull technique.Or maybe the film's meant for a different age group,perhaps it was considered huge back when people didn't mind sitting in front of their tv's and spending an unusual amount of time being entertained by a movie that moved delicately and slowly.After about two hours of nothing happening but characters bickering and acting snobbish,i fast forwaded to see who the murderer was and quickly went to sleep.

Well,basically that's the amount of random musings 15 minutes on the keyboard can suck out of me-before i go on any further it's best i stop here-i have to get out of this apartment before my mind distracts itself with the myriad of depressing thoughts it skillfully invents for displeasure-so la la la,la di da dam,gonna be listening to the Shins till i pass out smiling under the sun.

The Holiday

"I'm a book writer in London.You're beautiful,a movie-trailer maker in LA.We're worlds apart.I have a cow in the backyard"

Lines like these and other sickly saccharine elements make Nancy Meyers The Holiday a pale romantic comedy that is not only filled to the brim with terminally cute, vomit-inducing moments and a bunch of characters that aren’t remotely charming but incessantly annoying, but it’s unfortunate enough to be disgraced by the presence of Cameron Diaz, who’s marginally entrancing looks and beautiful smile becomes a silly excuse and substitute for an almost total lack of talent. There’s a lot of glutinous fluff in this film, and it all simply lies in the way Nancy Myers insists to include every single one of the genre’s tiresome hallmarks-the adorable puppy (who looks utterly miserable to be there), the pitiful babbling old man, the motherless children etc. The way events unfold share an all too similar pattern and objective-how the ostensibly raging playboy turns out to be a sympathetic widow, how an alcohol-driven one-night stand develops into a ‘relationship’, how the two women find men who they’re inexplicably attracted to instantaneously arriving at their doorstep. The only possible redeeming factor is in Jack Black’s performance (Kate Winslet was certainly impressive, but I’ve seen her done much better countless times before with roles that were quirky/serious and had more flesh to them), most of the characters he chooses to play nowadays are intolerably self-indulgent, loud and insanely annoying-but here he chooses to tone it down and once again the old Jack Black, the one I fell in love with in High Fidelity makes a long-awaited appearance. I did laugh more than once while watching the Holiday (and the script does have its smart points, a big break from the usual brainless gibberish we find in most romantic comedies), and as a comedy it satisfies much more-whereas as a romance it disappoints, much of this malfunction attributed to its blind loyalty to the genre’s conventional approach and blatant predictability: there’s nothing new offered and its overly long running time (130 mins) feels dull for the most. Although it’s worth mentioning The Holiday shines in comparison to The Break-Up or Love,Actually, both of which I thought were cinematic disasters (so if you thought any of the two films above were good, there’s a chance you might just enjoy this). Aside from the targeted demographic, I suggest others watch the DVD so they can pause and linger a while before having to put up with the movie (The Holiday is best seen with low expectations or a distracted mood)-or if you’re looking for a good light romantic comedy to watch, a better alternative would be to rent older films

United 93

United 93 is easily ranks in as one of the best film I’ve seen in the past year-it deals with a subject matter that is both profoundly painful and difficult to manage without coming off as exploitative-the subject of 9/11 has been the inspiration for many recent films, with their seemingly noble intentions but those films were designed with Hollywood and box office numbers in mind-films like The Great New Wonderful, World Trade Centre were all determined to establish hero’s and other characters we’re supposed to admire and be inspired by, whereas United 93 simply tells a tragic story that ends disastrously without a single ounce of sensationalism. It doesn’t pose questions or seeks to answer any-it’s sole, honest intention is to tell a story as it really was. Before I continue talking about the film’s overall performance, it’s essential we view the specifics-the camerawork here is purely remarkable-the camera works curiously and is careful to be deeply observant, carefully studying traveling whispers, darting glances and doubtful faces that appear as fast as they disappear, able to convey its heavy messages and build its story with sharp subtlety. The characters are intensely human and flawed, but none of them strive to seek our sympathy or admiration, and even the hijackers are uncharacteristicly hesitant and uncertain of their actions-the characters, each one of them, appear real, genuine and compelling. With a meticulously-researched script, the story takes its time to develop and by the time the big action payoff arrives, the suspense is tremendously thick and solid it’d be problematic if your hearts weren’t beating fast-much of the film’s suspense and action comes before the big moment (that is, when the passengers decide to retaliate), as reflecting the real event a lot had happened before (the other three previously hijacked planes all reached their intended targets- a delicate part of the plot that was cleverly managed) Once the film ended I was filled with an overwhelming sense of disbelief (in every good sense of the word), sadness and awe. Greengrass is careful to not sentimentalize or coward from the truth-this Oscar-nominated docudrama will have you in tears and deep in thought-an impressive and utterly powerful film driven with strong emotions. A definite must-watch.