one of the most sensitive, perceptive, and incisive reviews of a film i've read in a long time.

"a mighty heart", directed by michael winterbottom, reviewed in salon.

Labels: film

i've been listening to the "chillout" stream on di.fm for a while and i really enjoy it. the ads are far and few between and the music choice is pretty good for the most part.

today i was surfing the web and found an interesting article on kottke.org that i posted to my facebook profile. the article focuses on the creation of the new term "hyperlink cinema" - where the term came from, what it means, its context, and representation. most of the films mentioned in relation to hyperlink cinema are films i've seen and been fascinated with, primarily because they remind me of the very forward-thinking, globally-focused, most truly creative writer i've met (between the covers of a book) for a long while: david mitchell. if you've got time and are game to start a new novel, start ghostwritten. it's mitchell's first book, and it's a masterpiece.

examples of hyperlink cinema for those of you who are wondering:

crash
babel
syriana
memento

you get the idea. interlocking web-like narrative.

hey, it was only a matter of time :)

P.S. we bought toys for the cats we are looking after shortly after they arrived - a long fleece string on a plastic rod and four squeaky mice. one of the cats loves the mice and plays with them for hours before hiding them. i suddenly realized (after retrieving said mice from under the couch, his favourite place to hide them) that he's really on to something. because after i retrieve the mice, it's like he's getting a present ALL OVER AGAIN.

pay attention to the cats, people. pay attention to the cats.

haaaaaahahahahaha no i am NOT going to hide my mac on myself. are you crazy?!

if i don't get any more suggestions it's gonna be macbaby.

i'm just sayin'.

Labels: books, film, music

the older i become, the more beautifully wrought narratives break my heart. be it film (wong kar wai) or fiction (david mitchell), these creations pain me, for the infinite courage and energy that is demanded to shape these stories in face of the daily drudgery of life.

Labels: art, books, film, life

photo from cbc online

pedro almodóvar's latest film, volver, opens on november 24 in toronto & vancouver. if you get a chance to see this, go - penelope cruz is supposed to be phenomenal in this film.

Labels: film

this is an article about wong kar wai's new film, my blueberry nights. i am a little bit nervous about the film as it will be the first one mr. wong has created without christopher doyle, his cinematographer of 15 years. a fresh look, for sure - i will be curious to see it once it hits the shelves.

Labels: film, wong kar wai

Come to the Toronto Japanese Short Film Festival!

It's awesome!

Labels: art, film

i read about this article on mighty girl today. i already knew about david lehre from his myspace: the movie and its subsequent explosion on youtube. however, i wasn't prepared for the experience of having the following words - the last words - of his interview leap out of the screen to whip straight through me, screaming their peculiar truth of our generation:

I grew up using Google to solve all my problems.

- David Lehre, Esquire Magazine, The Unlikely Phenom

Labels: articles, famous people, film

i've been avoiding posting (by writing, that is) the past couple of days by just putting up photos. it's been a hard week, in more ways than just being sick, and i'll be glad to see it ending. i saw the usual suspects tonight and i absolutely love the film. kevin spacey is amazing. anyhow this one is going to be short; hopefully over this weekend i will get better and i'll be able to dedicate more energy to getting to class and choreographing and working for the dance coalition, and to posting more interesting entries on oneira.

Labels: film

i watched whale rider this afternoon, in order to let the film seep into my brain because i'm gonna have to write a lot about it in the next few months. there is something about really, really, really good films, and their ability to make me cry, even after seeing them for the twentieth time. i always end up in tears when pai is making her speech about her people for koro and he's not there. and the beached whales (i KNOW, they're NOT REAL but TRY TELLING THAT TO ME WHEN I CAN BARELY BREATHE BECAUSE OF THE TEARS RUNNING DOWN MY FACE) god i can hardly bear those scenes. i remember the horror i felt when (not knowing the story) pai says she's not afraid to die (and it's filmed in such a way that you think, she knows she's going to die, and she will, and then you find out she doesn't). the emotional power of films is something that always amazes me. i only ever remember experiencing an equivalent torrent of emotion when reading books in two instances: one was a book probably most of you read in elementary school, called where the red fern grows; the other one was in a scene (that is horrifically sudden) in a book by a.s. byatt called still life (the second book from her frederica quartet. refer to my website if you want more info :)

but films move me to weeping fits a lot more frequently. isn't that peculiar? it must be the overload of the visual senses. actually, this is a very interesting question. i'm going to have to think about it a lot more. because it's not an issue of room for imagination (film and books both allow that equally); nor is it an issue of whether or not the reader/spectator is able to become fully absorbed in the artistic text. it must be a difference in the way the two modes of expression communicate with their readers/spectators. what do you think that difference is? hmmmm....ponder....ponder......ponder.....

Labels: film

mmmmm. my favourite drink forever. i love strongbow. i love guinness. i just discovered that i can put my two favourite drinks together, and they taste phenomenal. 3/4 strongbow + 1/4 guinness, and o baby. a beer to kill all beers.

today is nic's birthday! she's turning 22 on the 22nd of january. just like i'm going to be turning 22 in a month, on the 22nd of february. weird, huh?

i am currently slogging through hayden white's interpretation in history, written in a book he published in 1965. it's really interesting - i am going to be talking about lots of semiotic things, including language as a particular structural basis for all interpretation. i.e. whatever mother tongue you are born into, necessarily influences and structures your ways of thinking and approaching abstract ideas such as history, which in turn affects the ways people (including you) tell history. i'm liking it. it's exciting. i haven't enjoyed working for a long time.

all right back to work. adios amigos!

Labels: film

well i managed to finish the fiery cross tonight, though i admit that is the only (and the least) of the accomplishments i had set out for myself. wait a minute. how sly the mind is. correction: i finished the fiery cross this evening in a fit of polished & practised procrastination.

the essay will be completed tomorrow night.

ahem. or wednesday.

c, thank you SO MUCH for the emails with the pictures! they are wonderful. i especially enjoy the ones of tom, and the one of you. and talibah, i am delighted you are starting a blog; as well as spartacus (kailey, you don't know HOW MANY TIMES i have started to mention you in conversation and have had to think twice and not say 'spartacus' instead of kailey. i can't figure that one out - i don't call you 'spartacus', ever, and i don't consciously THINK of you as 'spartacus', and yet...the name STICKS, girl. :) weird. huh.

i have discovered that the beautiful plant tony gave me has been attacked by nothing less than white dusty fungus. ewwwww. apparently it is not as common with household plants, but it is a fairly common phenomenon among outdoor plants. anyway i am supposed to spray it with water to get rid of the dusty grossness and hopefully the plant will live.

it is so cold out that my face crinkles in pain whenever i contemplate the thought of emerging from this safe (if drafty) haven. tomorrow will be living hell if it's as cold out as it was today, since i have a day chock-full of meetings until 7 PM. growl. i detest winter in canada. i think my body is naturally inclined towards more mediterranean climates, since i inevitably turn a bright smacking RED (at least my face does) when exposed to chilly canadian winds. as i said, i detest winter in canada.

i saw wong kar-wai's in the mood for love today for the 22nd (or 23rd?) time and i loved it more than ever. isn't that the most wonderful thing about works of art? the ones that not only stand the test of time, but burrow their ways into your heart, ever deeper, each time you experience them once again?

Labels: film

i saw rain last night. it is one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching films i have seen in a while. (i think the last 'beautiful and heart-wrenching' film i saw was wong kar-wai's happy together). anyhow now i am searching for the book, which isn't in the u of t libraries (of COURSE) and is out of stock at indigo (of COURSE). i will have to go on a hunt, to the bookstores i know in the area, to see if they carry kristy gunn's novel. i have this overpowering instinct that i should read it. especially if i am considering using it for my essay.

i am going to write this here in case i forget it - i thought of this while half-asleep and told tony (i somehow thought speaking the words aloud would cement the idea in my brain) but even then i'm not sure i will remember it, so i will write it here: i think the film's tempo is encased in the human tempo that is memory. i think the film's images are structured around the internal rhythm of the formation of memory in humans. i need to remember this in case i use the film in my essay, because i think i can connect this with the idea of memory, preserving memory, in indigenous cultures who exist within (previously) colonized countries.

ok now i feel better. at least the idea is there! my trouble is i feel like i can't use both whale rider and rain for my essay because i would like to compare new zealand and australian indigenous peoples, but both the above films are from new zealand. i don't have any material for australia. help.

sigh. i will try to write a paper this afternoon before going to a vic dance meeting and then rehearsal. perhaps i will read a bit more of fiery cross before i really attempt to wake up and start using my brain, though.

Labels: film