Book/Film Re-Runs

Catholic guilt is the term used to identify the supposed excess guilt felt by Catholics and lapsed Catholics. The term catholic guilt is controversial as it is not clearly differentiated from the guilt felt by members of other religions or moral codes. Says Wikipedia. This term is too strong for this post, but I use it when describing my feelings towards other things. Moreover, I’m not even Catholic.

I have a problem with watching the same film, or, worse, reading the same book, over and over and over because I’m acutely aware of the lack of time in a life (add to that the daily-changing probabilities of a sudden, tragic or freak death, accident or a negative surprise; life gets even shorter), and I feel that spending time re-reading the best book in the world will handicap me in my quest for self-development, entertainment and the general betterment.

If I get my mittens on a much beloved DVD, I don’t watch it right away (unless I’m trying to educate fellow bright minds during their visits to my pixie palace). I set it aside and feel torn between it (the personally approved) and the unseen latest and greatest (at least critically acclaimed or much-recommended, or “really important as per some weirdos” works). It’s not so difficult with films. I end up plowing through the cinematic world with no problem, catching both old and new, but rarely on repeat.

I have never re-read a book. I have absolute favorites, with highlighted passages, scribbles, smiley faces and comments in the margins, but I never read them again. I covet them, place them on display, and recommend left-right-center, but that’s it. Time is too precious. On top of that, I do remember the story line and have selected quotes written in my secret book.

I also rarely read contemporary fiction, because there is a higher probability that I won’t like it. Would I rather spend time on something that’s received a Nobel prize in Literature (check out the list, if you’ve got no author to read), something that inspires a dozen+ of other cultural pieces, or something that’s recently become a NY Times bestseller (which, by the looks of it, is every fiction book at Chapters). I pick 100 Years of Solitude over Life of Pi; I will sweat and labor over William Faulkner than surrender to Dan Brown. Does this make me some kind of a psychotic nut? Hey… I can just wait and give all this contemporary stuff 50 years and see where it gets them

In the dark ages of the past, I have been guilty of watching Titanic (I said it! I was twelve!), The Fifth Element, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, Hercules (Go Disney!), Coraline, The Hole very frequently. These movies are only 5% reflective of my favorites. My favorite movie of all times – Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, – was probably watched thrice in my lifetime. That’s it. What is the correlation between favorite films/books and those that I actually watched many, many times? Probably has to do with young age and having a lot more time dedicated to havoc and idleness (although I read!) vs now.

PS. Last contemporary book I’ve read was Pride & Prejudice & Zombies (hey, it was featured in episode 1 of Heroes, Season4). And it was awesome. Can we please have more remixing of old and new? I do like some light beach reading (poetry, Lewis Carroll), don’t get me wrong.

Filed under: film, literature , film, literature, memories, movies, obsessions, self

Tetro

I still have the images from this film in mind. What an excellent work of art. It’s Francis Ford Coppola’s first original screenplay since The Conversation. It is  a beautifully told story of the two brothers and the unveiling of the family secrets. The writing is absolutely fantastic, complemented by outstanding performances of Vincent Gallo and Alden Ehrenreich. Maribel Verdú (from Y Tu Mama Tambien) as the wife of Tetro (Vincent Gallo) does an amazing job, too.

I have never seen Vincent Gallo on screen before, and this film has put him into my favorite actors pool. He’s absolutely mesmerizing, the writer on a perpetual writing sabbatical, a not quite failed genius. And his eyes transmit a lot of emotion. The part where he stares at the blinding peaks of Patagonian mountains carry all the emotion of the subsequent ballet scene (which is also five stars).

Speaking of the ballet – Francis Ford Coppola created some of the most amazing dance scenes in this film. Some of them filled my eyes with tears. Apparently many of them have been shot in the studio only to be decorated with memorable and beautiful backgrounds in post-production. The whole film is actually in black and white – the present is in black & white, whereas flashbacks and scenes from memories are in color. In other words, for Tetro, the present is pretty bleak and not as vivid as the shaky past. I was wondering why the choice of black and white, until I hit the mid-peak of the film. My oh my.

I recommend this movie. It is now in my top 10 favorite movies of all time, filled with fully developed characters that undergo shocking changes as the story unveils. I’m still in a mild coma, and a sea of emotions that I can explain, but won’t. I don’t think it’ll be a stretch to say that Oscar nominations are due, but who knows. Go and watch it. Here’s the trailer:

Filed under: Great Times , achievement, beauty, excitement, film, gallo, genius, movies, review

Harvard and Realities of Unrealities

There is something unreal about Harvard, yet it pinches you with an overload of reality. What does that mean?

Every person, who is conscious enough, knows about Harvard, heard about its excellent programs, 340+ year history, accomplished alumni and, most importantly, the hefty price tag of the brand name degree.

But not everybody gets a chance to visit the campus, or has the desire to. I won’t preoccupy myself with those who don’t want to visit, but those who do. I’m one of those people. I haven’t had a lot of prior images of Harvard before I showed up, neither did I really research the school. Actually, little did I know that Transformers 2 boasted a stint on Harvard campus, involving some massive destructions inside the Widener Library, until I went and checked myself.

Being on campus, though, was certainly real. Yet the whole time I felt like Harvard was still this imaginary place that exists in this unapproachable world. A lot of people never think they’d come to the best educational institution in the world. And those who do, are probably in awe. One can only imagine what an enrolled student feels like. Or should probably feel like.

I feel that this visit has influenced a change in my middle-term strategy, a change that’s going to flower in the next 5 years or so…

Filed under: Great Times, the world eh , changes, education, film, future, harvard, movies, plans, travels, university

81 Films In 4 Months

Ever since I purchased my MacBook Pro, thus starting fresh in the world of personal computers, I set out to manage my data properly and responsibly.

After organizing my files, I set out to expand my media vault. Below is the list of films (in alphabetical order) I have acquired over the past 4 months; some – dearly loved, others I have never seen (or even heard) before. My collection is significantly populated with art house/independent films, and I love it.

What do you say?

1    2001: A Space Odyssey
2    400 Blows
3    A Short Film About Killing
4    A Woman Under The Influence
5    Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Filed under: simple life , culture, film, movies, obsessions, pop culture

YES

“Approximately 91.9% of respondents have a lower extraversion raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is constantly energetic, exuberant and active. Your answers describe you as someone who aims to be the centre of attention at social occasions, asserts yourself when in groups, and usually says, “Yes!” ” <- Bingo, the Karin!

PS. Needless to say, I am looking forward to Yes Man with Jim Carrey. The poster alone is worth some serious consideration. Check the trailer:

Filed under: simple life , film, joy, movies, self, yes

Product Placement

Product placement works. Like magic. It is also one of the cheaper and more effective ways to reach the consumer – show the product in action and worry less about the PVRs. In fact, how about more collaboration with television series and what not on putting products into the hands of actors? How much more/less would that cost? And how certain can you be now that the audience will certainly see the product in action?

The first effect of product placement that I remember in my short life involved us, 16- or 17-year olds, watching one of Michael Moore’s (yuck) documentaries. I believed it was Bowling for Columbine (or another one) with my Law class. If memory serves right, there was something about McDonald’s. While the movie bashed it, a whole bunch of us got hungry. Guess where we really wanted to go after the movie was over.

Mad Men. Those folks smoke and drink non-stop. For every misfortune, the remedy is to drink. For every great thing – more drinks. Whereas I don’t drink more frequently, I definitely seem to grab my favorite Djarum Blacks more often than not. Ooops!

PS. Happy December. In two weeks I’ll be in Vancouver! Wee!

Filed under: advertising , advertising, mad men, marketing, movies, product, product placement

15 years old again

Here is how it is: I laugh at the audience of preadolescent gals – or adolescent? Heck, let’s just say, tweens, – frenzying it up for some teenage vampires. Oh, and I don’t even know what the movie is about, and what sort of hilarity we are destined to see. And hilarious it is. Except that on the 55th minute you rapidly start swaying towards the gentlemanly Edward Cullen. Later on, one clues in that no 17- or 25-year old would ever act so nobly; it takes approximately 100 years to figure out how to treat a woman (girl in this case) right.

And yes, I remember how I used to love, love, love Anne Rice’s novels (that, last time I checked, still held the top of mind place in consumers’ minds), and vampire Lestat, and vampire Armand. I gave up on all of that. Ad then True Blood sucked me back into it. And so did the Lancome Piha Black lipgloss over their red lipstick a la Louboutin sole of a shoe.

And then this Twilight thing came out. I don’t mind admitting that I appreciate Robert Pattinson’s exterior, thank God for our same-agedness. If he was a tad bit younger, I would have to reconsider. All right, Edward Cullen, take me away! I am, too, a fan of Debussy’s.

PS. This review made me laugh so hard, I nearly had to rush to the washroom. Bagels, doom, and proletarian demands. I say, get them while they’re young!

Filed under: simple life , film, fun time, marketing, movies, music, obsessions, pop culture, product, review, twilight

On Batmans

Jeremy, Ian, Elia and I went to the 12:50am screening of the latest Batman affair. It nearly sold out, too.

Right after I purchased my advanced tickets at work yesterday, I announced that I was going to spoil the movie for everyone in the office. Obviously, that was a joke. My coworker took it to heart, however, and seriously uttered: “You better not spoil the movie!” I said: “Yeah, yeah, I better NOT indeed” in a manner that was rather saying, “what are you going to do about it?”

It’s a great movie – it’s intense, dark, shocking, unrelenting in the distance it’s willing to go. Very effective.

But there is nothing to spoil! Don’t tell me you don’t have the slightlest clue on who’s going to get caught, who is going to die, who should die, who doesn’t die, who ends up worse than before. In fact, everyone ends up in a worse state than they originally started with. I thought of Prisoner’s Dilemma when the movie ended, although the two are not directly related. The only way I’d spoil things is if I outlined particularly effective action scenes. But I wouldn’t do that! :-p

Go see it in IMAX if you can. I probably will.

PS. Yes, Joker is amazing. Amusing fellow, in fact.

Filed under: simple life , batman, joker, movies, pop culture, prisoners dilemma